


Beauty, the Beast and Park Chanyeol

by ArcticKiss (Doksuri)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Fake Marriage, M/M, Slow Build, We Got Married
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-20
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2018-04-10 09:09:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 31,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4386074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doksuri/pseuds/ArcticKiss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jongin does not want to be famous for his sexual orientation. He does not want to be part of a gay spin-off of We Got Married. He definitely does not want to be paired with Chanyeol. There are a lot of things Jongin does not want. Jongin has a lot of hidden anger and frustration. Jongin might just be a little insecure and a little in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Jongin had been told multiple times not to hire a friend as his agent, and, as a separate warning, never to hire Kyungsoo as anything. But that advise came from people much less persuasive than his best friend, Kyungsoo. This, in retrospect, was where it all went wrong.

The first few weeks went well enough. Kyungsoo was surprisingly professional, he had connections - which Jongin strongly suspected he intimidated into doing things for him, but still - and it was generally a positive feeling to work with him and not be constantly yelled at to ‘go do something with his fucking career’, as that was Kyungsoo’s responsibility now.

No other agent, however, would have casually booked him into a show without his consent, because they thought it ‘would be good for him’, and _get away with it_.

 

“We Got Married…you want me to do _We Got Married_?”

“Yes.”

“…I still think I understood that wrong.”

“We Got Married,” Kyungsoo repeated slowly, stoically, always happy with an opportunity to assume Jongin was stupid. “Not the original show, a new spin-off. And you’re going to be paired with a man, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He leaned over the table and clapped Jongin’s shoulder in an uncharacteristic sort of ‘got your back, buddy, trust me’ fashion. “I obviously wouldn’t let them set you up with some actress and undermine the whole foundation of your career. No faking straightness.”

Jongin didn’t even know where to start with this. “No faking…since _when_ are two men allowed to get married in this country?!”

Kyungsoo shrugged. “It’s a pretend marriage, who cares? Yes, it’s a bit controversial, but that just means people will talk about it. We may be taking a risk, but this is a step up for you. I’m sure your approximately ten current fans won’t mind it. What’s there to lose?”

Jabs at his tiny fan base were nothing new, but it sounded like Kyungsoo was actually serious about this show. Jongin felt forced to raise his voice. “You want to turn me into some…activist? No. I’m a dancer, that is my brand, period, we talked about this.”

“But your career in entertainment-“ 

“Keep my sexuality out of it.” Jongin slammed his hand down on the table to emphasise his point, rattling their empty coffee cups. A barista shot a concerned look in their direction and Jongin felt instantly embarrassed. He gave her an apologetic smile.

Kyungsoo was completely unfazed. “No matter how much you hate it, your coming out video was what kickstarted your career. You’re a role model, whether you want to be or not. This show might start a revolution. It’s perfect. This is our next step. Homosexuality is a booming business. Everyone will know your name.”

Jongin, professional performer and grown-up, decided to react to this argument by huffing, crossing his arms and looking away. “I refuse to even discuss this any further.”

Kyungsoo, professional pain in the ass, just kept on pushing. “You agreed to try variety, or anything that would broaden your audience. You want to stand on a big stage some day, perform live, this is about your dream.” 

When Jongin didn’t react, he tried: “What if your students stop coming? You never know what might happen to your studio. How long will you be able to pay the bills?”

Jongin shrugged and mumbled: “‘ll figure something out.”

Without even a second of deliberation, Kyungsoo switched to a completely different angle. He leaned forward a bit, lowered his voice. “The guy might be really cute, you know. He probably will be.” He did this other uncharacteristic thing with his eyebrows as if he was a dude setting his bro up with a super model, which, actually, might not be that far from the truth. “You haven’t had a date in forever. You were complaining about that just last week.”

That bait was too tempting. Jongin just couldn’t keep himself from snorting and commenting. “We Got Married does not exactly strike me as the best way into a healthy, private relationship.”

A corner of Kyungsoo’s mouth lifted up into the smallest grin, his most unnerving expression. “But something might happen behind the scenes. If anything, it’ll be a way to experience that cute perfect relationship you only ever see in movies, without any strings attached.”

Jongin snorted. “With a whole production team breathing down our necks. How romantic.” 

But something about that had sounded tempting. Somehow…he could see himself having a carefree picnic by the river with a handsome man, good food, relaxed conversation and sunlight. 

Damn it.

Kyungsoo saw, he knew, and he gave him that look, that smug I’ve-known-you-for-14-years-and-I-will-get-my-way-because-try-to-stop-me-bitch look. 

Never, ever, hire a friend as your agent.

 

 **NotYourBaby:** What did MBC say?  
  
**Slayhun:** You changed your name in my phone again.  
  
**NotYourBaby:** Yes. Don’t call me baby.  
**NotYourBaby:** Not in conversations. Not in your phone. Never.  
  
**Slayhun:** Aww, you’re such a  
**Slayhun:** Cute  
**Slayhun:** Little  
  
**NotYourBaby:** Don’t do it  
  
**Slayhun:** Actually…this is even more adorable. I think I’ll keep it  
  
**NotYourBaby:** Ugh, whatever  
**NotYourBaby:** What did MBC say?  
  
**Slayhun:** They don’t like our title  
**Slayhun:** And I know I’m going to regret asking this, but you said you had more ideas. Hit me  
  
**NotYourBaby:** Yesss, this is my moment.  
**NotYourBaby:** Okay, check this~  
**NotYourBaby:** We Got Married: Homo Love  
  
**Slayhun:** No  
  
**NotYourBaby:** We Got Married: Boys over Babes  
  
**Slayhun:** No.  
  
**NotYourBaby:** We Gay Married  
  
**Slayhun:** …  
**Slayhun:** are you serious??  
  
**NotYourBaby:** How about…  
**NotYourBaby:** We Got Mannied  
**NotYourBaby:** 8D  
  
**Slayhun:** You’re fired.  
**Slayhun:** …guyered  
  
**NotYourBaby:** I don’t work for you~  
**NotYourBaby:** And that was way worse than mine  
**NotYourBaby:** But fine, how about…  
**NotYourBaby:** We Can’t Actually Get Married or Even Get a Legal Union But Hey We Look Hot Together  
**NotYourBaby:** tried hard to make the acronym work but it was too difficult  
  
**Slayhun:** WCAGMEGLUBHWLHT…catchy.  
**Slayhun:** Also, are you kidding me? And way too long.  
  
**NotYourBaby:** Illegal Union?  
  
**Slayhun:** I think we should go for a more positive vibe  
  
**NotYourBaby:** This next one is boring  
**NotYourBaby:** We Got Married: Special Edition  
**NotYourBaby:** instead of like Global Edition  
  
**Slayhun:** Better, but doesn’t quite cover what we’re doing here. A bit misleading  
  
**NotYourBaby:** Okay, this one is the best I’ve got  
**NotYourBaby:** Wait for it  
  
**Slayhun:** …  
  
**NotYourBaby:** We Got Married 2D  
**NotYourBaby:** Get it?  
**NotYourBaby:** Because there are two Ds  
  
**Slayhun:** ………………  
  
**NotYourBaby:** And it’s not in 3D…although I would totally watch We Got Married 3D, if you know what I mean  
  
**Slayhun:** I knew you wouldn’t be helpful at all  
  
**NotYourBaby:** I’m an artist, you don’t appreciate my art, you’re not worthy  
  
**Slayhun:** I just came up with one myself  
**Slayhun:** We Got Married: Chanyeol Edition  
  
**NotYourBaby:** …this is not going to be a show just about Chanyeol  
  
**Slayhun:** Yes it is. Stop pretending. Nobody has ever heard of the other guy  
  
**NotYourBaby:** I have  
  
**Slayhun:** You’re weird  
**Slayhun:** BTW, casting him is all on you  
**Slayhun:** If he’s impossible to work with or the audience hate him, I’m out  
  
**NotYourBaby:** I take full responsibility

 

Jongin didn’t remember actually agreeing to do this, and yet here he was, in a far too plush chair in some old dark theatre with three cameras pointed at his face, thinking of ways to murder Kyungsoo and waiting for his pretend husband to arrive.

He wouldn’t know what to do with the body. That was the only reason Kyungsoo would get away with this, the only one.

This show was _creepy_. That was the best way to describe it. Never mind the idea of forcing complete strangers to pretend to be in love, Jongin had expected he’d at least get some information before they’d start shooting, a hint about who had been cast as his groom _at least_.

But the staff were like robots with a mute setting. Apparently, the producers of this spin-off planned to keep him completely in the dark for the first couple of shots, literally. The only light in the room, except for the one that made him somewhat visible to the cameras, cast a dim circle on the closed curtains in front of him.

So far, there were no cute men in sight either, except maybe for a sound guy who introduced himself as Kim Jongdae. The man hadn’t uttered a word since, not even when handing him his mike. He seemed shy and stared more than a bit too much. Jongin wondered if there could possibly be something about his appearance that would hinder the sound quality, because otherwise there was no justification for Jongdae’s fascination with him.

Oh Sehun, who had introduced himself as ’the star behind the camera’ and refused to be called Oh PD - from what Jongin gathered he seemed to use Sehun as a sort of stage name in his self-proclaimed life of fame - had only told him to sit here and wait. 

There was nothing he could do except grow more and more uncomfortable and mentally go through the list of possible candidates he’d come up with during the past week or so.

 

There were no rumours about who had been cast for a We Got Married gay spin-off. In fact, there were no rumours about the show in general. Jongin could understand why there was nothing on him, specifically, but nothing at all? Had this even been approved for broadcast?

The internet came up with nothing, and if there was anyone able to work the internet it was Jongin.

No way of knowing whom he’d be marrying then, except guesswork. Something told him Kyungsoo knew, but it would be easier to obtain the private phone number of the President than to get something out of him.

All he knew was the show was going to be a small production, streamed online, hardly affiliated to the franchise and probably much less life-changing than Kyungsoo had made it out to be. No surprise there. Beside the gay thing, the fact that they wanted _him_ was a dead giveaway.

But who else, then? Jongin sincerely hoped it wouldn’t be someone who hadn’t even publicly come out yet. If it was, he would try to talk him out of it, poor soul.

Who was somewhat of a celebrity and openly gay? Obviously, the words gay and celebrity in one sentence would lead everyone’s mind straight to one particular singer-songwriter, better, _the_ singer-songwriter. Chanyeol was truly an iconic role model to have achieved that much. 

But Jongin was looking for someone who was actually within his league, or like, at least within the same galaxy as his league, which both ruled Chanyeol right out.

He could think of a few B list actors, one of them much too old _please no_ and the others quite possibly already in a relationship. He found numerous articles on rumoured gay idols, but put together those covered practically everyone who’d ever stood on a stage holding a microphone in this country, with varying levels of credibility. In fact, some articles claimed the way someone held a mike revealed some hidden sexual desires in shocking detail, who knew?

There were a handsome comedian and a talented pianist, whose careers had both suffered heavily from their coming out, thanks to the overwhelmingly homophobic audience they apparently used to cater to. Jongin thought they might be looking for a popularity boost, but strongly doubted that would involve some obscure variety show emphasising their gayness.

 

The list was short, and disappointing. Very few of these names made his heart beat faster.

A sudden burst of sound in the dark room made Jongin jump. Now _that_ sped up his heartbeat considerably. One quick cardiac cycle later, a few tentative notes from a guitar filled the theatre.

Jongin tried to sit up straight to seem interested and curious, a futile effort prevented by the plushness of his chair. The curtains stirred and the guitar played the intro of a song. Jongin suppressed a groan. If this was to set the bar for the level of cheesiness of this show, then-

His thoughts were cut short when the curtains slid open.

And then his brain seemed to stop functioning completely, because Chanyeol, _the_ Chanyeol stood in the middle of the spotlight holding his guitar. Chanyeol, yes, it really was Chanyeol, the hot mess that were Jongin's cognitive functions decided, was impossibly tall and handsome. Radiant, that was a word.

This was a joke, it had to be. But then, at the same time, it made so much sense. Of course, this was the only possible reason a show in this country would get away with something as revolutionary as gay marriage.

Chanyeol was the one who opened doors like that. He was _it_ right now. His albums probably outsold rice. His personality and body were coveted by a huge variety of TV shows and his ridiculously smiley face filled the commercial breaks between them.

The reason Jongin personally envied Chanyeol the most wasn’t his insane popularity, but the fact that he wasn’t popular _because_ he was gay, he was simply gay and popular.

Chanyeol was the kind of person who could talk to the most homophobic, conservative, middle aged couple about gay rights and make them want to adopt him and feed him cookies, yet he did not thank his success to that talent.

Chanyeol was simply disgustingly positive and loveable like that, and somehow…he was Jongin’s future pretend-husband.

Jongin decided that he didn’t care about hiding the body. He would brutally murder Kyungsoo in the middle of the street in broad daylight and laugh on his way to prison.

He was a nobody, he was nothing. He was a single strand of hair on the head of Chanyeol’s shadow. Maybe he was the only openly gay person in the entire universe with an empty schedule and even that didn’t excuse _this_.

It was hilarious, really.

Meanwhile, he was both blinded and stunned. His mouth was probably hanging open and the cameras were getting all of that.

Chanyeol lifted his head to the microphone and sang.

That was what could have delivered the final blow and stopped Jongin’s heart, but ended up being the thing that pulled him out of his trance. 

Chanyeol’s live voice wasn’t bad, far from it, but what he sang was a rendition of Elvis Presley’s Can’t Help Falling In Love, and, besides the fact that he did not quite have that Elvis-voice, that…was just the most inappropriate song choice imaginable. 

If they’d had some kind of history together, Jongin could imagine this song creating a beautiful touching moment. It was a song for episode 50 at least. _Oh god, please don’t let this continue for 50 episodes._

Not just that, but the way it implied the power in this - fake - relationship would lie with jongin, as if Chanyeol, most-desired-man-of-the-decade Chanyeol, somehow intended to play the role of lovesick puppy. What the actual…Jongin had never felt so insignificant and belittled in his life.

Maybe if Chanyeol had changed the lyrics, enough to make it genuinely about a first meeting between two strangers, maybe then- 

“Take my hand, take my whole life too”, Chanyeol took a breath and and shot him the widest, brightest smile. Jongin wanted to sink into his chair. 

There were cameras pointed at his face, still. 

This was hell.

 

“What went through your mind before the curtains opened?”

“I was nervous,” Jongin said truthfully. He was still nervous, sitting on an uncomfortable stool in a tiny room full of lights, cameras and both expectant and disinterested faces, his sweaty hands on his knees. “I had no idea who it could be. I never imagined it would be Chanyeol.”

“What did you think when you saw him? Since you’re only a little internet famous, it must be such an honour to be paired with a global super star like Chanyeol, could you use that in your answer?” The writer looked at him expectantly. She seemed to mean well, but Jongin hated how she worded questions, and he found it extremely unsettling that her big eyes never seemed to blink.

“Um..,” he started unsteadily. “I am, of course, extremely grateful that I get the opportunity-“

“Not like you’re answering a question,” she interrupted, shaking her head but still not blinking. “Tell us a story.”

“I..I couldn’t believe it,” Jongin said with the most genuine sounding awe in his voice that he could muster, “Chanyeol, _the_ Chanyeol. I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest. And he sang me a song, all for me, it…it was like I was in a movie, and-“

“That was good,” the woman interrupted. “Say that again but without the stuttering, unless you want to up the emotion a bit.”

It was torture, made worse by the knowledge that whatever he said, they would probably cut into juicy chunks describing feelings he wouldn’t even remember faking.

 

Chanyeol stepped away from the mike and bowed. He put down his guitar and started walking, off the stage and towards Jongin’s row of seats.

Jongin stood up. He’d seen Chanyeol on a stage before, in the distance, never looking directly at him, let alone coming over. He wasn’t prepared for this. Just in time he managed to hide his emotional turmoil behind his poker face. He’d perfected this technique during years of hanging out with Kyungsoo-in-a-teasing-mood.

“Um, hello,” Chanyeol said. His bow was a little awkward, but then he was smiling again, seemingly brimming with confidence. “Nice to meet you.”

Jongin’s response was more mumble than greeting. And that was before he realised that Chanyeol might not even know who he was. Had Chanyeol been left in the dark about the details of this show as well? It seemed unlikely, but still.

Chanyeol didn’t give him a chance to introduce himself, though. “Did you like it?”

It took Jongin a while to understand what he meant. “Eh,” he hesitated. “interesting song choice.” Maybe he should have applauded just now, but he could hardly bring himself to move at all.

Chanyeol’s smile fell. That was bad, probably. Jongin could imagine Kyungsoo facepalming and the mob of angry fans that would tear him to pieces after this aired. Maybe the two would happen simultaneously.

“I knew it. I should have gone for Bruno Mars’ Marry You,” Chanyeol said.

Jongin considered that alternative and deemed it wise to refrain from commenting. He managed a smile. “I liked it though, you sound really good live.” He even added an "I'm just a bit overwhelmed" for the sake of believablity. 

Chanyeol smiled back, and Jongin decided this was going well. He could do this, he thought, until he started doing math in his head. _How many episodes? How many hours filming for one? How many minutes of those involving direct conversations with Chanyeol?_

Then, Chanyeol let out a nervous chuckle and said: “So…we’re married now. I’m really glad it’s you. I love your videos.”


	2. Chapter 2

After a long silence, Chanyeol cleared his throat. “Should we…,” he gestured awkwardly at the row of chairs beside them, “sit?”

“Yes…” Jongin made an awkward movement with his arms that couldn’t possibly be a recognisable gesture in any culture. “Yes.” 

He waited for Chanyeol to fold out a chair and take a seat before he forced his own legs into motion. This provided a welcome break for his mind to process the fact that Chanyeol knew who he was and had seen his videos.

But they were sitting right next to each other now, uncomfortably close. Jongin stared ahead at the empty stage. It was Jongin’s turn to say something. He knew Chanyeol was waiting.

“So…you know who I am?”

“Cut!”

Jongin instantly relaxed, and then immediately tensed up again when he realised that ‘cut’ didn’t mean this was over at all. He was still sitting right next to Chanyeol. This was still actually happening.

“We need to move the cameras!” Sehun shouted, way too loudly, through the theatre. “Get closer. And light, I can’t see a thing.”

Jongin stupidly turned his head, and met Chanyeol’s eyes.

“Yes,” Chanyeol said, his voice clear and confident, “I know who you are.”

“Stop talking!” Sehun commanded. “Continue that moment on camera.” He walked around telling people where to go, the angles in his face mysteriously catching the little light there was in all the right ways. Just like the first time he saw him, Jongin got the feeling a model had wandered onto the wrong set. Sehun paused next to their seats, glanced down at him and sighed dramatically. “And someone fix this one’s hair.”

It took a while before they were allowed to ‘continue their moment’ and all the while Chanyeol looked at him in complete silence with a sort of fond little smile on his face. It was creepy, but handsome creepy, which should not be possible. Jongin's emotional meltdown caused an uncharacteristically aggressive urge to punch him.

He was starting to get over his initial shock, though. He felt a little starstruck, for which he was seriously judging himself, but the reality of the situation was also sinking in. He would have a pretend marriage with Chanyeol, which meant not saying a single wrong word or he’d have the entire nation at his throat. And he might get that anyway for simply daring to exist in Chanyeol’s presence.

Sehun snapped his fingers to get their attention. “Chanyeol, you look great, the cameras are loving it. You,” he looked down his nose at Jongin, “honey, give us some face, you’re not an ice sculpture. Also, Chanyeol, it’s great that you know who he is, but you’re one of about five people, give him room for a little introduction, anything.”

Jongin never expected them to be treated the same, but Chanyeol shot him a slightly apologetic look, possibly just to be polite. Jongin suspected he got this a lot, working with less famous people, aka every single person on earth. And of course, once the cameras were rolling again, Chanyeol’s smile returned like nothing had happened.

“You have your own dance studio, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Jongin said, a little more in control of his voice now, “but not many people know me for that. I started posting videos of cover dances and some original choreography online a few years ago, under my stage name Kai.”

“Really?” Chanyeol asked with the perfect level of exaggeration to make it a total guess to anyone if he was acting or not. “I heard about you when you worked with SHINee.”

 _You just told me you watched and liked my videos, was that even true?_ was what Jongin thought. What he said was: “That was just once.” 

“Don’t be modest,” Chanyeol said, “I heard Taemin requested it personally.”

_Yes, because he’d watched my videos. …is that how you know about my videos?_

Chanyeol seemed to think he hadn’t taken it as a compliment and hastened to add: “And SHINee don’t just work with someone who isn’t good at what they do, no matter what Taemin says.”

After this, their conversation unavoidably moved on to discuss Chanyeol’s impressive career, which involved SHINee only as ‘one of the many groups he’d collaborated with’. 

Chanyeol played it well, the role of humble, adorable superstar who is somehow happy to engage in some subtle flirting with a guy who posts dance covers on the internet. He asked Jongin about the food he liked, what music he listened to - My songs too? Really? I feel honoured! - and what he most enjoyed doing in his spare time.

But not once did the fact come up that an actual marriage between them would be impossible, even though that undermined, in Jongin’s eyes, the whole set-up of the program. Weren’t they going to address the law at a all, were they going to pretend it simply didn’t exist? This wasn’t the original We Got Married, nor was it a clear gay marriage campaign. This was fake, everything about it was fake, too fake, uncomfortably fake. 

Jongin suspected he'd have to get used to that. This…this was probably what Kyungsoo meant by ‘the world of entertainment’.

Well, he was here now, he might as well make the best of it. It was doubtful people would notice him sitting next to Chanyeol, but if he didn’t at least try to say or do something interesting, Kyungsoo would have even more reason to bully him later. So he tried.

Just as he was finishing the exaggerated story of a traumatic childhood experience at a theme park, which explained why he would not like to go on a date there, Chanyeol stared past him for a moment and seemed to receive some sort of sign from Sehun. 

“Have you eaten?” he asked.

“No?” Jongin suppressed the urge to look over his shoulder and glare. Why wasn’t anyone coaching him? As if Chanyeol needed it.

“There’s a really good restaurant not far from here.” Chanyeol stood up and offered him his hand. “I’d like to take my handsome husband out for dinner.”

 _Oh my god_ , Jongin thought… _seriously?_

But two could play at that game. Jongin feigned disappointment, faux-pouting. “You’re not going to play me another song?”

The shock on Chanyeol’s face was a surprise. The seasoned actor actually didn’t know how to react?

Of course, Chanyeol’s smile returned soon enough. “Another time,” he said. “I’m glad you didn’t hate it so much you never want to hear me sing again.” He laughed, oozing confidence and charisma.

“Cut!” Sehun shouted. “Get ready to move!”

 

It can feel uncomfortable to eat in front of someone you’d like to impress. Imagine that someone is all of Chanyeol’s fan base, represented by the cameras currently probably zooming in on the fresh splatter of kimchi juice on your shirt. Jongin wondered if there was gochugaru stuck on his teeth as well, probably.

“What should we call each other?” Chanyeol asked, cheerfully oblivious.

That question was something Jongin dreaded more than any possible kimchi related incidents.

“What do you think?” Yes, bouncing the question back, great relationship and TV-star tactics.

“I’m older, right?” Chanyeol grinned.

Jongin didn’t know yet what stereotypical version of gay relationships Chanyeol was planning to play out in this show, but if his next sentence contained the word ‘oppa’, he swore to punch his disgustingly straight, kimchi-free teeth in. ..what was with the aggressive thoughts today?

Wait…had he told Chanyeol how old he was?

“But hyung is strange, maybe,” Chanyeol continued. “You can just call me Chanyeol, if you want.”

Everyone called him Chanyeol, young and old. It was a stage name, a brand, it wasn’t exactly a cute pet name he was giving only Jongin the right to use, but Jongin wasn’t going to complain, much too afraid of moving into the realm of Baby or Darling.

“Should I call you Kai, or Jongin?” Chanyeol asked.

“It depends,” Jongin said. “Who do you want me to be?”

Chanyeol leaned forward a little, interested. “Is there a difference?”

Not really, except that Jongin was his real name, the one friends used, more personal. Actually, maybe he would like to be called Kai in this situation, where everything was make-belief.

“Kai is more interesting,” Jongin said, with a smile he hoped was at least borderline-seductive, “and he can dance much better. Jongin is boring.”

Chanyeol sat back in his chair and just looked at him for a moment. Then he nodded. “I’d like to call you Jongin,” he said.

“Cut!” Sehun was shaking his head and pinching his nose. He held that pose dramatically long before he said: “you have no imagination, neither of you, not much chemistry either. But fine, fine.” He threw up his hands. “Let’s wrap this up. Exchange phone numbers so there is at least the illusion of something happening between shoots.”

Chanyeol professionally fulfilled Sehun’s request, and when their individual interviews were done, he professionally told Jongin he looked forward to their next shoot and professionally made his exit, swarmed by staff.

And so Jongin had the most wanted number in the country in his phone, but didn’t feel like he was supposed to ever use it, and wondered if it was even the real one.

 

“How did it go?”

“You _knew_ ,” Jongin said. “How could you do this to me?”

“Doing it for your career,” Kyungsoo said. He actually sounded proud of himself. “This is Chanyeol. He could literally have been paired with a squid and the whole world would watch it. All you need to do is pull a little bit of that attention towards yourself.”

“Oh, _that’s all_? Like that would ever happen!”

Kyungsoo looked at him over his glasses, which he was only wearing to look smarter than him in public, asshole. “Okay, you really need to quit this inferiority complex bullshit. Chanyeol is just another human being, you know.”

“ _I_ don’t have an inferiority complex. Kim Jongin does not think he is any less worthy of breathing this world’s oxygen than Park Chanyeol is. It’s Kai who wants to hide under a rock after being paired with and compared to him because _that_ is plain professional suicide. How could you do that to me?”

“Well, I think you’re exaggerating, and I think you show a lack of understanding of how this industry works.” Kyungsoo pushed his glasses back up his nose and pretended to read something on his phone. “Is the reason you don’t like that it’s Chanyeol strictly professional?”

“I hate everything about it,” Jongin avoided the question. “The director is a sassy diva, there’s a creepy sound guy who would be cute if he would just stop staring at me and all those cameras have me thinking twice or more before I say anything.”

“Good,” Kyungsoo said. “You need to think more before you talk anyway. Like think about how you really feel about this.”

“I’ve just _told_ you.”

Kyungsoo hummed and Jongin could tell from the way his fingers moved that he was playing fruit ninja.

Agents, friends, useless.

 

 **NotYourBaby:** What did you think?

 **Slayhun:** No, you first

 **NotYourBaby:** I thought it went well…a song, dinner, it was a cute first date type episode, right?

 **Slayhun:** There is no chemistry

 **NotYourBaby:** I think there’s lots of chemistry

 **Slayhun:** Honey, there’s none  
**Slayhun:** Dead fish trying to keep a conversation going  
**Slayhun:** While pretending to be humans  
**Slayhun:** And married  
**Slayhun:** Too much of a stretch for dead fish

 **NotYourBaby:** You’re being too harsh  
**NotYourBaby:** And you’re wrong

 **Slayhun:** I might be  
**Slayhun:** Just kidding, baby, I’m never wrong

 **NotYourBaby:** don’t call me that

 **Slayhun:** Whatever  
**Slayhun:** We’ll see  
**Slayhun:** He’s cuter than I expected though, this Jongun or whatever

 **NotYourBaby:** You know his name…I’m not talking to you anymore

 **Slayhun:** aww boo  
**Slayhun:** See you again soon~  
**Slayhun:** In real life~  
**Slayhun:** Where you can’t hide behind your offline status~

 

Jongin’s life had never been quite calm or normal. Being good at dancing was great and everything he needed, until he found out winning some local competitions in high school didn’t actually pay the bills for the rest of your life.

It was hard to find and keep a job and even harder to keep the creative freedom he longed for. Teaching in a friend’s studio and opening his own had been a long struggle and not as fulfilling as he’d hoped it would be. Posting recordings online was just a hobby until his coming out video blew up. And now he was pushing for fame again, something he thought he’d given up on years ago.

He was also pretend-married to Chanyeol, which somehow turned his entire life into a TV show, and not just on-screen. His biggest fear now was that the line between real and make-belief would blur. The night after the first shoot he dreamed that his whole life was based on a badly written script, and when he looked at people now a character description started playing in his head.

 **Kyungsoo** was a recurring character, a cunning parody of a best friend. He’d been there since the prequel and needed no introduction. But there were some recent additions to this show that was his life that were worth mentioning.

 **Sehun** , age a well-kept secret. Sassy Sehun, the fabulous star behind the camera, who will eagerly use any opportunity to rub his perfect face in your face. Something else he likes to rub in your face is his wedding ring, which makes him a self-proclaimed expert on gay marriage. No one has ever seen his husband, but everyone on set as a deep admiration for the man who somehow managed to tame this creature. Jongin has overheard conversations, and there is talk that they actually might be legally married in some foreign country, that this mystery husband is European and has naturally blond hair, or beautiful dark skin and green eyes, or a huge dick, or all of the above. An unpopular suggestion made by the hair and make-up department is that he could simply be second generation Korean with not a drop of sexy exotic blood.

 **Jongdae** , age unknown. Creepy Jongdae, the sound guy. Will use any opportunity he gets to stare at Jongin. It’s not Chanyeol, it’s just him, Jongin thinks. When they'd relocated to the restaurant during the first day of shooting, Jongin’s mike wasn’t working properly, and Jongdae apparently had to rub his hands all over his chest to fix the problem. Jongin suspects there wasn’t even a problem with the mike in the first place. Sehun, usually annoyed by any delay, just let it happen. He seemed amused. So much for creating a safe work environment.

 **Chanyeol** , age too-young-to-be-as-famous-as-he-is. Happy Virus Chanyeol, insanely popular singer-songwriter. Also a hit at various variety shows, known for his wit, optimism and body length. A Running Man favourite, nickname: long legs. He has a new album coming up, but apparently found enough time in his packed schedule to film something as insignificant as We Got Married with Jongin. He has countless commercial deals, most memorable his Stay Fruity ad. Jongin can never remember what it actually tries to sell, but Chanyeol bites into an apple, smiles into the camera and tells everyone to 'stay fruity', and his skin has this ethereal glow.

 

The second shoot went much like the first in that Jongin mostly felt like a stammering mess, who sometimes had his moments, but generally drowned in the wave of charm and professionalism that was Chanyeol. 

They drank coffee at what Jongin had told a writer was one of his favourite coffee shops - to sound more sophisticated than the person who drank cheap Americanos with Kyungsoo at the run-down café around the corner from his studio - and a whole team of security guards was needed to keep a formidable flock of fervent fans outside.

News had finally got out that this show was happening. Jongin could just imagine the discussion topics. 'Chanyeol marries Nobody', 'Mediocre dancer on the internet will use our precious star to get some screen time', 'Beauty and the beast'.

“Hey,” Chanyeol said.

Jongin tore his eyes away from the fans who were clearly glaring at him through donut decals on the glass. “What?”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, a little distracted, sorry.”

“I asked why you hadn’t called or texted.”

Was this a trick question? Had Chanyeol received a secret sign from Sehun that he should bring it up. Would his response to this possibly confirm him as the insensitive asshole in the relationship?

“I…thought you would be too busy to talk to me,” Jongin said. There, that sounded believable. Truth was he had no idea Chanyeol expected him to call. Did he really…or was he just saying this to create some drama for the episode now?

“You’re my husband,” Chanyeol said. “I’d make time for you.”

Wow, okay, definitely just for the show. But Jongin didn’t like being played. If Sehun wanted childish drama, he could have it.

“You didn’t call me either.”

It took Chanyeol a little longer than usual to cover up his discomfort with a smile. “True. Okay, I promise to contact you when I have time.” He reached across the table and picked up Jongin’s latte, turned it around in his hand and took a sip.

“Hey, that’s mine," Jongin protested. That was expensive coffee.

“Sealed my promise with an indirect kiss,” Chanyeol said with a cheeky grin. His hair was loose and fluffy today - probably a professional stylist term - and his lips shone rosy pink as he licked the foam off them, but then there was something very masculine about the way he carried himself.

Damn it... Why did he have to look so hot _all_ the time? Even in the most cringe-worthy situations?

Jongin felt like, every time Chanyeol did something cute and romantic that seemed this believable but could only be fake, he would lose a little piece of his soul.

“Cut!” Sehun shouted. “Oh my god that was perfect! Do it again. I need close-ups!”

 

When the first episode aired, or, more accurately, was streamed online, Kyungsoo demanded they’d watch it together. Jongin wasn’t looking forward to seeing himself look like an idiot, let alone to do so with live Kyungsoo feedback, but at the same time he was sort of grateful he didn’t have to sit through it alone.

Thankfully there was no added studio commentary and the bits in the theatre and restaurant were much like Jongin remembered them, embarrassing, but not the certain end of his career. Sehun did seem to have some decency when it came to editing, and with the make-up and lights, his face didn’t look all that terrible either. He didn’t look anywhere near as attractive as Chanyeol, but acceptable.

His interview made him cringe the most.

“You look like you need an anger translator like Obama,” Kyungsoo said.

“All I wanted to tell them was how much I hated my life and wanted to get out of there.”

“Yeah, I’m getting that. Let’s hope no one else does.”

And then, without any warning, Chanyeol’s flawless face was on the screen, describing what it was like from his perspective.

“He seemed…a bit shy at first," professional on-screen Chanyeol said. "I hope he didn’t notice how nervous I was. I told him I knew him because of SHINee, but actually I’ve watched all his videos. Is that creepy?” Chanyeol covered his cheeks with his hands, as if this moment was a great deal more embarrassing to him than telling the nation to 'stay fruity'. “Oh god, he’s going to see this interview, isn’t he?” 

Kyungsoo paused the video.

Belle miaowed lazily from the kitchen, casually reminding Jongin that he hadn’t fed her yet.

“Did you hear what I heard?” Kyungsoo asked.

Jongin felt the burning desire to feign ignorance and start an off-topic conversation about his cat.

“He’s a total fan. He’s your fan. Who saw that coming?”

With Kyungsoo you never knew if something was sarcasm or not. It usually was a safe bet to assume it was, but Jongin didn’t think even Kyungsoo would have kept something like this from him if he’d known. It also wasn’t true, obviously. Chanyeol was pulling this shy fan act for entertainment purposes.

“He’s a good actor,” he said. “He knows I make videos. Nobody is actually going to test him on this, because no one else has seen them, and it makes him sound like a devoted husband right of the bat. Sounds like the director’s behind it. I doubt people will actually buy this.”

“You’re so sceptical,” Kyungsoo said, staring at him. "Have you always been like this? Are you okay? Have you been hanging out with me too much?

“You can’t actually believe Chanyeol is my fan.” Even saying it sounded ridiculous. “I’ll prove it.” 

Right at that moment, Jongin’s phone buzzed.

 

 **Chanyeol:** Did you see it? What did you think?

 

“Is that him?” Kyungsoo immediately asked.

Jongin hid the screen of his phone from him. But that only gave it away, of course.

“You two talk outside of the show?” Kyungsoo shot him his knowing grin, including that look of evil amusement in his eyes that made Jongin want to scream.

“This is the first time,” he said, trying to stay calm. “He’s just asking about the episode, which is a purely professional work-related question.”

His phone buzzed again.

 

 **Chanyeol:** Most importantly, does my butt look too big in those jeans?

 

...and a less professional work-related question. Was this, what, meant to show that Chanyeol didn’t actually care about his serious opinion on the show? Chanyeol didn’t even fall into the big-butt category of celebrities. …not that Jongin had done research on this or anything.

Kyungsoo was edging closer, trying to see. Jongin leaned away over the arm of the couch, stretching his body like a cat. “Still just a question about the show,” he managed to say quite convincingly.

His phone buzzed twice. Jongin was afraid to look now, but he couldn’t resist.

 

 **Chanyeol:** You look amazing, by the way  
**Chanyeol:** I mean, just as much on the screen as in real life

 

“Hah! He’s flirting with you!” Kyungsoo yelled triumphantly, directly into his ear.

Jongin pushed Kyungsoo away and cleared his throat. “This is…it’s a cute story we could talk about on the next episode. He’s just setting it up properly. He doesn’t actually think this about me.”

“Uh-huh,” Kyungsoo said, still grinning. “Aren’t you going to respond?”

Oh, right. Jongin sighed and stared at his phone. It took him a while to compose a message, partly because he had to keep turning away when Kyungsoo tried to see what he was typing.

 

 **Jongin:** Almost done watching it, my agent paused it to give me some feedback. Your butt does not look too big. And thank you, you look good, too.

 

That sounded professional, right? He mentioned having an agent, handled the absurd question and returned the compliment as casually as he could.

There was a long pause before Chanyeol sent something again.

 

 **Chanyeol:** I was afraid for a second that you hadn’t given me your real number.

 

Well, how trusting of him. Jongin scoffed. It didn’t matter that he had wondered the same thing about Chanyeol. That made much more sense.

 

 **Chanyeol:** I’m glad you responded  
**Chanyeol:** I’ll stop interrupting your monitoring session now  
**Chanyeol:** See you on Tuesday

 

Purely professional contact it was.

“I need to go feed Belle,” Jongin said.

Kyungsoo sat up straight and watched him walk to the kitchen. “Don’t you want to watch the rest of the episode first? It’s almost done.”

“No, you watch it and tell me if something important comes up.”

There was something really annoying about listening to Chanyeol talk about him and have no idea if any of what he was saying was his honest opinion.


	3. Chapter 3

Jongin’s tiny back alley dance studio was a stupid location for filming, but Sehun insisted - “You’re not dating, you’re married. We don’t have the budget to give you a house, so we need to find other ways to create that domestic setting. He’s visiting you at work.”

“So this is where it happens?” Chanyeol looked around as if he’d never seen three walls and a mirror before. However exaggerated it seemed to Jongin, the cameras were loving it. Chanyeol was dressed in some high fashion interpretation of comfortable dance-wear, all sponsored brands no doubt.

“This is where I teach my students and film my videos, yes. I’m teaching a class today, actually. Do you dance?”

On stage, Chanyeol was inseparable from his guitar. He was always holding the damn thing even when he was just singing. Jongin knew he used backup dancers in his shows and videos, but he couldn’t remember ever seeing him move from his spot himself.

“Oh no,” Chanyeol said with a horrified expression, “Please don’t make me. I’m the worst dancer you’ve ever seen.”

Why wear the clothes then? Jongin thought. Or was this his cue to force Chanyeol to do something he was seemingly uncomfortable with and get some laughs and sympathy from the viewers? He didn’t think he’d ever truly master the art of variety. If only Sehun would give him directions like he seemed to give Chanyeol.

“I can teach you,” he tried. “You don’t have to be good. And I’m teaching my youngest kids today, so the level isn’t that high.”

Chanyeol laughed. “I’ll probably still stand out.”

He was right. 

Chanyeol was a lot taller, and also a lot less flexible. Jongin tried not to pay attention to it, but Chanyeol struggling to follow his warming up instructions amidst a group of five to seven year olds was quite undeniably the most adorable thing he’d ever seen.

The small room was full of cameras and people. There wasn’t much space to dance, but there didn’t seem to be much enthusiasm for it either, the way the girls crowded around Chanyeol and only seemed to have eyes for him.

Jongin didn’t consider himself an unnecessarily strict teacher. It was definitely never his intention to make a little girl cry. But he didn’t hesitate to point out flaws in a performance to help someone grow and improve. His students knew that.

Chanyeol’s presence today had an interesting effect on them. When Jongin told one of the girls to focus, she immediately hid behind Chanyeol’s long legs, as if Jongin was a scary man she needed to be protected from. Chanyeol knelt down and cooed at her. She clung to him and her eyes seemed a bit more shiny than usual, the sneaky little actress.

This game of good cop, bad cop continued until Jongin got fed up with playing the heartless monster while Chanyeol got to be the well-dressed, huggable wet dream of every single person in the country with a child-wish, on camera.

“Let’s take a break,” he announced.

The group was smaller than usual today - not all parents had consented to their child being filmed - but it was still enough to immediately overwhelm Chanyeol as soon as the pretence of this being a serious dance class was dropped.

Jongin laughed at him as he was assaulted with questions and hugs. He expected to be asked for help any moment now, but no, Chanyeol handled the situation calmly and gracefully. He was probably used to being jumped by mobs of larger fangirls.

“Let’s all sit down,” Chanyeol said, raising his hands in a gesture of peace. “And ask one question at a time.” The girls obediently knelt on the floor. Chanyeol sat before them, cross-legged and listening very attentively to whatever they had to say. 

Some had seen him on TV, or had posters of him at home, or a brother or sister who desperately wanted an autograph. Jongin observed from a distance, glad to be out of the spotlight for a while.

“Are you and the teacher really married?” was the first question that stood out from the rest.

Chanyeol smiled. “We are for a while.” He looked up at Jongin. “What are you doing all the way over there.” He gestured at the spot next to him.

Jongin sighed and walked over.

“Will you have a baby?” A younger girl asked. “My mother says marriage is for when you want a baby.”

Another girl shushed her and hissed: “They’re gay. They can’t have babies, silly.”

Chanyeol reached out and took Jongin’s hand. It seemed a very casual gesture, but Jongin felt himself freeze up. Suddenly, his fingers were the most sensitive part of his body, like his brain seriously prioritised knowing the exact temperature of Chanyeol’s skin, or, like, the size of his hand and how well it fit in his.

“We’re not having a baby,” Chanyeol said, as if that was a serious decision they’d had to make. “Some people get married without having babies.” He turned to Jongin and smiled, disgustingly sweet. “Do you think I’m a good husband for your teacher?”

There was an awkward silence. 

“You’re really famous,” a girl said, as if she thought that might be a problem. Jongin was impressed by her level of understanding of the situation.

Chanyeol turned to her. “Your teacher is really famous too, didn’t you know?”

They all laughed. Jongin attempted to glare at them in a way that the cameras wouldn’t pick up. 

“Is he a good teacher?” Chanyeol asked, and Jongin involuntarily squeezed his hand. That was a sensitive question.

Luckily, what followed was an unanimous “Yes!” and Jongin could breathe again. Chanyeol’s little chat with the girls might sound all cute and innocent, but these dance classes were his biggest source of income right now.

As if this situation wasn’t uncomfortable enough already, he was constantly aware of Jongdae the Sound Guy watching them, staring at their linked hands. Seriously, what was his problem? And was Chanyeol not seeing this?

One of the youngest girls was beckoned by Sehun. Jongin watched warily as she wandered over and he whispered something into her ear. Chanyeol, engaged in conversation again, didn’t seem to notice that either.

The girl walked back to the group and, without waiting her turn, asked: “Will you kiss our teacher?”

There had to be ways, Jongin thought, to murder Sehun right now, from where he was sitting. If only he had a knife to throw or some telepathic superpower, something quick and effective he could use before the initial rage died down and his rationalism kicked in.

Chanyeol laughed and squeezed Jongin’s hand affectionately. “Do you want me to?”

“Yes!” Unanimous again.

Weren’t children supposed to find kissing gross, or something? Where did this enthusiasm come from? Jongin would like to have a word with their parents later..

Chanyeol let go of his hand and wrapped his arm around his shoulders instead, pulling him closer. No…he couldn’t seriously…

Chanyeol’s lips brushed briefly, very lightly against his cheek. 

From the corner of his eye, Jongin could see cameras zooming in. He managed a meek smile. A horrified expression wouldn’t do here. He avoided meeting Chanyeol’s eyes and felt very lucky Sehun hadn’t made him wear a heart rate monitor.

The girls went crazy. 

It was the end of class, time for their parents to pick them up. The parents must be confused, hearing all this commotion from the hallway.

 

“How did you feel about your first skinship?” The never-blinking interview woman asked. She seemed excited, her eyes even bigger than usual.

“I didn’t expect it at all,” Jongin said. He hadn't expected Chanyeol to grab his hand, but in retrospect he should have known that Sehun was up to something. He always was. “It was…”

The woman nodded enthusiastically, but didn’t say anything so they wouldn’t have to cut out her voice later.

“It was exciting and strange,” was the best Jongin could come up with.

“But good?” the woman urged.

“But good,” Jongin parroted.

 

“Class is over,” Jongin said, just loud enough for it to not count as a whisper.

“Cut!” Sehun shouted, actually startling a few of the girls. He always seemed to think he was on a big movie set and had to shout over several wind machines or something. It was a blessing he didn’t carry a megaphone around to complete the cliche.

“Okay?” Chanyeol asked.

What did he mean? Was he asking permission to seriously invade his personal space after he’d already done it? Was he asking if he was okay? Jongin nodded curtly and stood up to let his students out.

“We’ll rearrange the cameras and continue where we left off,” Sehun announced.

Jongdae came over to inspect Jongin’s mike as he was standing by the door, greeting parents.

“Do you like him?” he whispered.

Jongin blinked. Jongdae never talked, he just stared, or touched, so this question took him by surprise.

“Why?” he asked. _Why do you care? Why are you asking? Is this still part of the show? Are we being recorded right now?_

Jongdae lowered his face and fumbled a little with the fabric of Jongin’s shirt, which, by the way, was not affecting the mike in any way. “Just think you’ve got great chemistry,” he said quietly. Was he smiling to himself? When Jongin wanted to ask him about it he was gone again, walking across the room to fumble with his headphones. Weird, everyone on this set was so weird.

He was forced to return to his spot on the floor next to Chanyeol, for continuity or something useless. They sat with their backs against the wall, facing the mirror. A little voice in Jongin’s head told him they didn’t look that bad together, and for the first time, Jongin just let it speak.

The fact was he was in his element here, and Chanyeol wasn’t. There were many ways in which Jongin thought he was lacking compared to his pretend-husband, a lot, but dancing wasn’t one of them. And so what if Chanyeol was more popular with the girls and wore more expensive clothes, so what if he’d grabbed his hand and…and kissed his cheek for entertainment purposes? Jongin was still, at least a little bit, in control here.

“Your dancing isn’t as bad as you think,” he said.

Chanyeol snorted. “You don’t have to be that nice, just tell me the truth.”

Jongin smiled back. “A lot of it is not talent but simply hard work. Give it a few years and you could be at the same level as the youngest girls showed today.”

Chanyeol’s eyes widened slightly, and for a millisecond Jongin worried he was going to take offence. Then Chanyeol laughed, really laughed, not the professionally charming showbiz chuckle, but something real and beautiful and warm.

Did Chanyeol like the joke that much? Or did he like being talked down to because it probably didn’t happen often? Or did he think that this joking and laughing together showed a level of familiarity that fit well into their fake We Got Married relationship? Jongin’s head was full of questions, but most importantly _how do I make him laugh like that more often because I want to listen to it forever._

“I brought you lunch,” Chanyeol said. He picked up his bag, which he must have brought over during the short break just now, and pulled out a lunchbox. He set it down carefully on the floor between them and peeked under the lid. 

“I’m not sure how well it survived the journey and it didn’t look that amazing to begin with,” he said. “Please don’t expect too much. But I hope it tastes alright.” He took off the lid and revealed a suspiciously home-made looking lunch.

Were there stores that sold lunches like this for that domestic feel, or had one of his staff members prepared it?

“I made it myself,” Chanyeol said, “in case you hadn’t guessed.”

Jongin looked up to the rare sight of Chanyeol looking insecure, in front of cameras. It seemed so believable. If he was not involved with this show and watched this episode at home, he’d probably buy it.

“This is…you really made this yourself?”

Chanyeol nodded proudly.

It took Jongin’s brain while to come up with an appropriate response. “Thank you. …I haven’t prepared anything for you.”

Chanyeol smiled. “Don’t thank me until you’ve tried it. And there’s no need, although you could…dance for me?”

“Dance?”

“I sang for you,” Chanyeol quickly said, as if afraid he’d offended him by asking him to dance for food. Jongin would gladly dance for food. If only the world worked that way, he wouldn’t be here right now.

He walked over to where his phone was docked into the stereo system. “What do you want me to dance to?”

“Anything,” Chanyeol said, which was very unhelpful. Jongin looked to Sehun, who shot him a meaningful yet indecipherable and therefore meaningless look. Jongin repressed a sigh. Should he go for something fast and impressive, smooth and sensual or sexy, something by Chanyeol, or by another artist? A dating coach would be nice at times, or rather a We Got Married fake-dating coach.

He picked one of the more upbeat songs of Chanyeol’s latest album. He didn’t think it had choreo, but he could freestyle it.

During the intro, Chanyeol smiled and Sehun nodded, so he hadn’t messed up.

After that, Jongin just danced.

The world faded and the only thing that mattered was the music flowing through his body. He even forgot about the cameras around him. For a moment, he was free from all thoughts that bothered him concerning Chanyeol’s sincerity or the audience’s response to anything he said or did. He loved dancing, he loved this, and when the music faded and the room was filled with the quiet presence of the film crew and his own breathing, he loved the look on Chanyeol’s face.

That was a look of admiration, and it wasn’t faked. Jongin constantly doubted his own interpretations of Chanyeol’s expressions, but not this one. He did have a little faith in his own abilities. There was a reason thousands of people kept coming back to watch his videos beyond the fact that he was gay.

“That was…absolutely amazing,” Chanyeol said, in awe.

That pulled Jongin back to reality, because really, his freestyle wasn’t _that_ good.

“Was it good enough to deserve lunch personally made by Chanyeol?” he asked.

Chanyeol looked down at the lunch box. “Um…maybe we should go out for lunch.”

Sehun glared at Jongin and made a cross with his arms. So the first actual sign he got from their director was not help with his acting but a plea to shut down a suggestion to change location.

“No,” Jongin said, “I want to try this.” He picked up one of the spoons Chanyeol had also pulled from his bag and scooped up some rice and egg.

Chanyeol just looked at him, anxious at first, but when Jongin didn’t choke or spit out the food, he smiled. “You look so happy when you’re dancing,” he said. 

That implied the didn’t look happy any other time. To be fair, that was probably true.

“You look happy and…so sexy.” 

Jongin choked on his food.

Chanyeol quickly pulled a bottle of water from his bag and held it out to him. “I’m sorry, eat slowly.”

Jongin nodded his thanks and swallowed, grateful for that moment he didn’t have to say anything because his mouth was full.

“Dancing makes me happy,” he said. “And this is not bad.”

Chanyeol smiled again. Then he said: “Um…you’ve probably seen the episode that aired so you know that I’ve watched all your videos. It’s a bit embarrassing, but yeah…I’m a fan.”

Jongin took another bite and nodded. _Embarrassing to be your pretend-husband’s fan…yes, isn’t it just._

Wait, what?

Chanyeol was his fan? _His_ fan?

Chanyeol knew Jongin had seen the episode because they’d texted about it, yet he didn’t mention that now, like that was some private thing unrelated to the show. And during said episode, Chanyeol had mentioned liking his videos, but he hadn’t actually uttered the word ‘fan’.

Hearing Chanyeol say he was his fan, literally, was almost too much for Jongin to take. He wanted to believe it, that was the problem, he wanted to believe it so badly it clouded his judgement.

They were still being filmed, they were part of this show, fake-married, and anything Chanyeol said should not be believed so easily. Jongin decided to challenge him.

“What is your favourite video?” he asked. It sounded sceptical, and it was a mean way to respond to such a confession, but in this moment, he didn’t care.

“That’s hard,” Chanyeol said, “I assume you mean dance video, not your coming out, because that was so brave and beautifully worded...but anyway, I have so many favourites, but I’m going to say…when you danced to Beyoncé while wearing heels. I’ve probably seen that video a million times. I can’t understand how you’re able to move like that, making it look easy. Although you look just as amazing when you're dancing normally. But why don’t you wear heels more often? You’re so good-“ His voice trailed off when he saw Jongin’s expression.

Jongin tried to switch to his Kyungsoo-style-pokerface but it was too late.

“What’s wrong?” Chanyeol asked. “Did I say something? …I didn’t mean to offend you.”

Jongin shook his head. _Cameras everywhere, stay polite._ “It’s fine, it’s just…I made that video because I lost a bet with a friend. It’s not that I hate dancing in heels or look down on other men who do, it was fun to challenge myself, but I…I don’t like adhering to certain stereotypes that way. It makes me uncomfortable.”

The studio went very quiet. Jongin wondered if the people watching and recording them were even breathing right now.

The look on Chanyeol’s face was not the look of an actor who had just made a wrong guess, it was the face of a fan whose experience of their favourite dance video had just been ruined because they found out its creator hated it.

It made Jongin feel terrible. Did Chanyeol really love that video this much?

“But thank you,” he said, “for loving my work. I really appreciate it.”

Chanyeol’s expression was unreadable now. “I’m sorry,” he said, “if you don’t like me asking, but why does it make you uncomfortable? Is it because you’re just not into that kind of thing, or is it because of what other people might think?”

Jongin felt he’d screwed up big time by being honest just now, but the only thing he could think of to do was just to keep answering honestly. He didn’t know what it was Chanyeol wanted to hear.

“Both, I think,” he said. “But mostly the latter.”

“What other people think about your sexuality and the stereotypes they associate with it stops you from being yourself,” Chanyeol said. It didn’t sound like a question nor a statement, but something in between.

Apparently they were having a serious conversation about a serious topic now, on We Got Married. Jongin had protested when Kyungsoo first told him about this show and mentioned it could be a bit of a campaign for gay rights, but after a few episodes of pretending like it was perfectly normal to be married to a man, this came as a welcome break from all the make-believe.

“It’s not just what they think. People can think what they want. It’s what they do. You’ve seen there are only girls in my dance group of the youngest age range. I get to teach very few boys in general, and it’s not because boys don’t like to dance, it’s because parents don’t want to leave their sons alone with a gay teacher. Some don’t trust me with their girls either, the looks I get sometimes-”

“Jongin,” Chanyeol said quietly, sympathetically.

Jongin, not unaffected by Chanyeol calling his name like that, stopped ranting.

“I’m openly gay too,” Chanyeol said. “I know how hard it can be.”

“But it’s not as hard when everybody loves you already,” Jongin said. 

Chanyeol smiled, but his eyes were sad. “I receive death threats almost every day, too many for my company to sue everybody who sends them. So there’s a system now, a system to rate death threats so we can shut the most serious sounding ones down and ignore the rest.”

“Cut!” Sehun shouted. “Okay, guys, we all love some drama, but try not to get too real. Chanyeol, your manager has been furiously gesturing at you to stop talking for a while now, just so you know.”

Chanyeol bowed his head at his manager, covered his mike with his hand and whispered to Jongin: “Sorry, it’s part of my image. I’m not supposed to show that I’m affected by homophobia too much. I don’t want those negative voices to be heard, and I want to give people hope.”

Jongin was speechless. He thought that was the most real, as Sehun called it, Chanyeol had been with him so far, and it felt…he couldn’t describe how it felt. Intimate? Special?

Sehun read over the notes a writer had just handed him. “I think we can finish up this conversation and move on to-,” he squinted and mumbled something about writers and handwriting, “a small tour of Jongin’s apartment.” He looked up. “You have a cat, right?”

“Yes?” Jongin said.

“Great, let’s see if a bedroom tour and a cute pet will bring back the happily married vibe.”

They made Jongin say: "Thank you for the delicious lunch. Shall I show you where I live?" which he tried to make sound as casual and natural as possible, but he was sure Kyungsoo would definitely recognise as a scripted line and laugh at later. And then Sehun announced a short break from filming and everybody started packing up equipment to move it.

Chanyeol left the room, probably to have a talk with his manager about what he could and couldn't say.

Jongin wanted to take his mind off the confusing mess of a conversation that just happened by confronting Jongdae and asking what his deal was, but he was nowhere to be seen, some of his equipment abandoned in a corner.

Sehun was fiddling with his phone.

Jongin thought of ways to break it to him that Belle did not fall into or anywhere near the 'cute pet' category of animals.

 

 **NotYourBaby:** How about that chemistry now?

 **Slayhun:** You’re talking about that kiss on the cheek? Hmm, at least the audience will love it

 **NotYourBaby:** It was your idea!  
**NotYourBaby:** …what was wrong with it?

 **Slayhun:** Still seemed a little one sided to me. A lot one sided.

 **NotYourBaby:** I hate you.

 **Slayhun:** The talk was good though. Unattainable Superstar Chanyeol seemed a lot more human. I think our surprisingly sexy dancer likes that.


	4. Chapter 4

Jongin locked Belle into the bathroom before he let the crew in. Unsurprisingly, she was not amused. This small apartment was her castle, her kingdom. She wished to roam it freely whenever she pleased - even if she usually stuck to her napping pillow by the window - and there was nothing she hated more than intruders.

The people setting up cameras seemed slightly concerned about the growling, miaowing and scratching noises and kept throwing nervous glances at the door. Jongin simply pretended everything was fine. They had to understand he was protecting them. And he knew the bathroom would hold. There weren’t many soft things her claws could damage there. Once, he had made the mistake of locking the spoiled princess in his bedroom as a punishment. Never again.

“Can you make it stop?” Jongdae was the first to ask. “The mikes are picking up the noise.” He’d reappeared just in time for set up, claiming a toilet break as the reason for his absence. Over fifteen minutes was a long time to spend on the toilet, but then the one downstairs picked up great free wifi from the restaurant next door.

“I can’t,” Jongin said, “and I can’t just throw her out. She lives here. It wasn’t my idea to shoot inside my house.” That came out a bit sassier than he intended. But Jongdae was seriously getting on his nerves.

“Figure something out,” Sehun shouted. “Push a towel under the door to block the sound or something.” He looked at Jongin. “And I still want shots with that cat, so you need to bring it out when its calmed down.”

Good luck with that, Jongin thought as he went to find an old T-shirt, because all his towels were in a cupboard he couldn’t reach right now without risking a cat-astrophe.

Sehun also wanted a shot of the happily married couple walking through the door together, followed by Chanyeol’s genuine first impression of the apartment. So Chanyeol was waiting in the hallway and blissfully unaware of the cat related commotion, for now.

As he rummaged through a drawer and heard Sehun shouting directions in the living room, Jongin suddenly felt very nervous about letting Chanyeol into his home. 

He had, albeit grudgingly, agreed to filming here and tidied up in advance. So it wasn’t like he was unprepared. It was a very personal place, but there was nothing on the walls or lying around that he wasn’t comfortable revealing to the public. And he doubted Sehun would ask him to pull out the boxes from under his bed and open those, or to show off his extensive vibrator collection - he owned three, if love eggs on a 1+1 one sale could be counted separately.

Well, actually, with Sehun, you never knew.

But letting Chanyeol in was different from letting the cameras or a diva director in, even though it would result in the exact same thing; people seeing how he lived and having opinions on it. 

Chanyeol wasn’t just people, apparently. That seemed to be the problem.

Chanyeol claimed to be his fan, but Jongin didn’t live in a house befitting a celebrity. It wasn’t small, but it was very simple, and in an old building. He could only imagine the kind of urban palace Chanyeol owned. It probably had a view, too, not windows directed at dusty walls or streets that were filled with drunk people regardless of the time of day.

Jongin also disliked this genuine first impression pretence. There was no way Chanyeol’s first impression would be genuine if it was being recorded. He was too professional for that. Jongin expected a ‘what a wonderful apartment does my lovely husband inhabit’ or some other cheesy line of Sehun’s invention…

 

“It’s so big!” Chanyeol said when he followed him inside. “I mean, not that I expected it to be small.” He glanced at Jongin. “Sorry.”

“No problem,” Jongin said, more than a little surprised at the small crack in Chanyeol's professionalism. “I get that a lot.”

His studio was small for a dance studio, but the floor above it was big for a one-person apartment. Together it wasn’t such a bad deal for the rent he paid, and he lived conveniently close to work. 

Kyungsoo had found the place for him using his ‘connections’, suspiciously fast and cheap and convenient, to stop Jongin’s complaining about the shithole he'd rented before. Jongin had never dared to ask if maybe the previous owner had been bullied into leaving, or shipped to China in small pieces. The less he knew the better, probably.

The living room was spacious enough that Sehun could fit his entire crew and a couple of cameras inside. There was a separate kitchen, a bathroom, bedroom and an extra room for storage.

“It’s just, you seem so hesitant about filming here. I thought maybe you lived in a dump,” Chanyeol said. “Or, you know, with five attractive supermodel roommates I didn’t know about,” he added with a grin.

“No roommates,” Jongin said. “But I do hide the dead bodies of my victims behind that door, so let’s not film there.”

“Careful,” Chanyeol said, laughing. “Everything you say on the screen will be taken literally.”

When they were filming, Jongin was always on edge and did not feel funny or charming at all, but Chanyeol’s reactions sometimes made it seem like he was, and that made him feel…

“Can I see your bed?” Chanyeol asked with an adorable smile.

“Sure.” Jongin tried not to sneer at the look of pure joy on Sehun’s face. He better not know about the contents of those boxes. He couldn’t.

It was just a bedroom, nothing special. His bed was a simple double with blue covers, there was a desk with stacks of paper concerning finances and a bookcase with books, most of which he’d never read. It might as well be a hotel room in terms of personal decoration. Jongin was grateful he’d kept it this way. It looked sort of professional.

“May I?” Chanyeol asked.

Jongin was already nodding when he realised he had no idea what he was giving permission for.

Chanyeol jumped and landed on his stomach on the bed with a happy groan. He rolled over, propped his head up on his arm and looked up at him. “This is what beds are for.”

Jongin didn’t know what to say. This felt like a rude, weird kind of invasion of his personal space. And yet he didn't really mind.

The shirt of Chanyeol’s couture dance wear was riding up and revealed a strip of pale skin at his hips. If Jongin angled his head a bit he could probably confirm whether Chanyeol had an intimidating six pack or the sort of smooth stomach you’d want to run your hands all over and pinch.

No man had the right to look this…delicious in overpriced clothing against blue sheets, definitely not in Jongin’s bedroom, and most definitely not Chanyeol.

“Join me?” Chanyeol said.

Jongin made sure his eye roll was picked up by all cameras before he sat down on the bed.

“No,” Chanyeol said cheerfully, “Lie down, get comfortable.”

Jongin sighed and complied.

“You’re not really married until you’ve shared a bed,” Chanyeol said, in an almost obnoxiously innocent yet flirty way. “I’ve looked forward to sharing a bed with you.”

Jongin glanced at Sehun, who seemed to have no problem with this whatsoever. Two men blatantly flirting and hinting at gay sex? That was suitable for broadcast? …okay

Jongin turned his head to look at Chanyeol. “What do you want to do? I mean, are we just going to lie here all afternoon?”

Chanyeol caught the double meaning, he definitely did, Jongin saw the brief glint in his eyes. But Chanyeol decided to back down with: “I’d like to see the rest of your house. And I’d love to meet your cat.”

Jongin silently thanked whoever was up there watching out for his sanity. He would have had no idea how to react if Chanyeol had playfully started describing how much and where he wanted to...touch him...or something.

As they were getting up, Jongin caught Jongdae's expression. The man looked…absolutely euphoric, like he’d just finished shooting the scene of his life. But Chanyeol squishing his mike between his body and a bed couldn’t possibly be something a sound guy would be happy about, professionally.

Jongin wished he would get a moment alone with Chanyeol to ask what he thought about this weirdo. But that never seemed to happen.

 

After a short and uneventful tour, excluding the bathroom, they settled on the couch with a cup of tea they would pretend Jongin had made but which had actually been produced by a writer.

During the moving of cameras and lights to focus on their new little set, Chanyeol kept shooting glances at him.

“What?” Jongin mouthed. If they talked out loud and had some interesting conversation that wasn’t being recorded, Sehun might get upset, and nobody wanted that.

“Are you okay with us shooting here?” Chanyeol half whispered and half gestured.

Jongin shrugged. Trying to process the fact that Chanyeol was being considerate off-camera. But then there was a hand in his face, touching up his make-up, and they couldn’t continue their secret talk.

 

“Can you cook?” Chanyeol asked when the cameras were rolling, lifting his mug of tea.

“Tea isn’t hard,” Jongin said. “But I’m not sure if I would be able to recreate the lunch you brought me today.”

“I like cooking,” Chanyeol said.

Of course he did, ridiculously perfect man.

“But I’m not actually very good at it,” he continued. “And I definitely don’t have time for it. Maybe we could take a class together. That would be fun.”

“Yeah, sure,” Jongin said. That would be great for his image, burning food and giving beloved superstar Chanyeol a smoke inhalation injury. Was this another one of Sehun’s ideas? He didn’t doubt it.

“I love your apartment, by the way,” Chanyeol said. “I just realised I hadn’t told you yet. It’s stylish and organised, like you.” He smiled. “Like the way you dance.”

Jongin had been worried about Chanyeol’s opinion, but he couldn’t be happy and relieved now. One, because that line was probably too cheesy to be true, and two, because some dimwitted camera or light or whatever technician idiot actually chose this exact moment to open the bathroom door.

A grey-brown streak shot between legs and tripods and stopped right in front of the couch, at Chanyeol’s feet. Trust Belle to ignore the peasants and go straight for the most famous person in the room - Jongin would love to hear Sehun's reaction to that thought.

Chanyeol’s face lit up. “Hello.” He set down his mug and reached out.

Jongin had been halfway towards grabbing the cat himself, but his own mug was hindering him. He could only watch in horror as Chanyeol’s hand extended within the reach of her claws.

“Careful! She hates str-”

Belle jumped.

Chanyeol started and sat back against the couch, looking down at the little monster that was now in his lap.

Belle purred, she actually _purred_ , without being bribed with steak or petted for half an hour. She turned around, flopped down on Chanyeol’s legs and half closed her eyes all contentedly, like she did when warm sunlight was shining on her napping pillow.

“I…” Jongin was speechless for a moment. “She hates people,” he said weakly, feeling strangely betrayed. “She tolerates me, but when my best friend comes over she always hides in the kitchen and usually if anyone else comes too close, she attacks them.”

Belle was not only the most antisocial, but also the ugliest cat Jongin had ever seen, maybe except for those naked rat-like ones. She was beautiful to him in her own special way, but he wasn’t blind to the fact that she didn’t fit any universal standards for cat-beauty.

“She’s adorable,” Chanyeol said. He stroked her head with his fingers and Belle stretched her little legs and then curled up into a fluffy ball again, like she’d rolled straight out of a viral video on the internet.

“She’s a scruffy ball of fur,” Jongin mumbled. “You don’t have to mind my feelings, or hers.”

Belle had the colour of vomit, a very uneven hair length and the face of a werewolf out of a bad nineties movie. And Jongin loved her.

“She’s adorable,” Chanyeol said again, firmly. “What’s her name?”

“Belle,” Jongin said. “From Beauty and the Beast. Nobody wanted her, people called her an ugly beast, so I adopted her and named her Belle.”

Chanyeol looked at him, in silence for a while. Then he said: “You’re adorable.”

Jongin didn’t know what to say to that.

Chanyeol’s beautiful eyes widened. “I didn’t mean…I’m not saying you’re adorable like a cat, or like, that I’m looking down at you as something cute and little…I mean…ah, I’m getting this all wrong.” He paused to take a much needed breath. “I just think that’s an awesome thing to do. Admirable, like posting your coming out video on the internet so people can take courage from it and feel less alone.”

That…that awkwardness. That was some Oscar-worthy acting, if…if it was. Acting.

“Jongin?” Chanyeol said carefully.

Jongin cleared his throat. “I’m not offended. I’m just a little surprised that she likes you so much.” He held out his hand and Belle immediately walked over to him. She hadn’t completely deserted him then.

“I wish I could adopt a cat, or a dog,” Chanyeol said, “but I’m far too busy to give them the attention they deserve.” He sighed sadly.

Jongin felt bad now. He picked up Belle and put her back on Chanyeol’s lap, but she didn’t like being told where to sit. She turned around and curled up between them on the couch.

“Cut!” Sehun shouted. Belle jumped up again and hissed, then disappeared into the kitchen within seconds.

“You were like a little family,” Sehun cooed. “It was so cute.” Jongin looked up. The entire crew mirrored Sehun's adoring expression, including Jongdae.

They were what? Jongin hadn’t…wouldn’t dream of it.

He hadn’t had a lasting relationship in years, definitely no one he could imagine a future with. He’d started getting used to the prospect of living with Belle until she died and then being alone.

What was he doing? Imagining Chanyeol as…he was losing his mind.

“We’re going to do a wedding photo shoot,” Sehun said. “I want you to discuss locations and themes and then we’ll wrap up for today.”

 

 **NotYourBaby:** This ship is sailing on the internet, have you seen?  
**NotYourBaby:** Is it real?  
**NotYourBaby:** Am I delusional?

 **Slayhun:** He’s interested.

 **NotYourBaby:** Really???  
**NotYourBaby:** For real real?

 **Slayhun:** Your dancer is as grumpy and strange as that monstrosity he calls a cat, but he is interested.

 

“Are you sure you don’t want to watch it?” Kyungsoo asked for the second time.

Jongin nodded. He stroked Belle’s patchy fur and listened to the contented noises she produced.

"Are you sure sure?"

“Yes, I trust you to watch it and tell me if my nose hair was visible at some point or something.”

A new episode would be streamed tonight, which would surely have interviews and Chanyeol saying lovely things about him that may or may not be his actual opinions and Jongin simply...couldn’t…

His phone buzzed.

 

 **Chanyeol:** Have you looked up articles about us? Try not to read too much into the mean comments. I apologise for some of my fans.  
**Chanyeol:** But have you read the positive stuff? It’s kind of awkward, haha, but nice, right? People like us.

 

“I'm losing my mind,” Jongin mumbled.

“What was that?” Kyungsoo was immersed in something on the screen of his laptop and not paying attention to him.

 

 **Jongin:** That’s great. Good publicity.

 

He didn’t know what else to say, except for maybe: “You are confusing me. Why are you sending me casual messages like we’ve known each other for years? Why are you so perfect? Why does my cat not hate you?” …but he would never.

“People are loving you,” Kyungsoo said from the couch.

“What?”

“Have you checked the view count of your videos lately? I am the best agent. Admit it.”

“I’m sure it’s a temporary thing. People are just curious who I am, they’ll lose interest again soon enough.”

“Oh ye of little faith.” Kyungsoo shook his head. Then he suddenly clapped his hands together like he’d just had an epiphany. “I’m starting my own entertainment company.”

Jongin snorted.

“No seriously. I’ve played with the idea before, and if you get popular enough…” Kyungsoo typed something and turned the screen towards Jongin. “This is what I’m calling it.”

DO’NT

“It looks like you’ve aggressively misspelled don’t,” Jongin said.

“DO’NT,” Kyungsoo spelled it out, slowly, tasting the letters in his mouth. “DO from DO Kyungsoo and ‘NT from ‘NTertainment.”

“That’s a pretty dumb way to shorten entert-“

“But, most importantly,” Kyungsoo interrupted him, suddenly sounding all serious, which was never a good thing, “it means that I always personally get to tell my artists what to Do or Don’t. That will be the secret of our success. And I’m starting with you. Do tell me what is really going on between you and Chanyeol at this point, and why you won’t watch the episode, and if it has anything to do with you being his-”

Jongin interrupted him this time. “You’re not running this entertainment company yet. And I DO’NT feel like being interrogated today.”

Kyungsoo looked at him, staring right though him, sizing him up like he was prey.

“And it will never happen, honestly, how much popularity is gay internet We Got Married going to give me?”

“Dude,” Kyungsoo said, and then again for emphasis. “Dude, there is this whole blog dedicated to the ship. They’re calling you ChanKai, didn't you know? The fanfiction is amazing.”

“Fanfiction?”

Kyungsoo’s eyes sparked and he pulled his laptop towards him again. “I’ll read you some lines from the latest update. Hang on.” He cleared his throat.

“ _A tangling of limbs, heated skin a stark contrast against cool blue sheets. 'The living room is spacious enough to raise all of our future adopted babies,' Chanyeol says, 'let’s pretend we’re making them ourselves, right now_.'" He scrolled down. "Oh, and this, _Kai turns his head away, blushing at being called adorable_. This,” Kyungsoo said, barely keeping a straight face, “is gold. I’m hiring this girl as a writer as soon as I get my new company off the ground.”

Jongin jumped up from his seat next to Belle’s pillow and ripped the laptop from his hands. 

“Hey! I was just getting to the rated part!” Kyungsoo protested.

Jongin ignored him. “This is inspired by yesterday’s shoot. But that hasn’t even made it into a preview yet. There is no way-“ He scrolled up and read the username of the person who wrote it. 

ShinChen, that didn’t ring any bells.

Kyungsoo looked at what he was doing. “That’s the biggest shipper, you see her name everywhere. New fic updates every day.”

“How do you know it’s a girl?” Jongin asked.

Kyungsoo shrugged. “Aren’t all of them internet fans girls?”

Jongin shot him a look. “I’m not a girl.”

“Oh,” Kyungsoo said. “Right.”

“I should be able to…” Jongin clicked through to the profile. “I mean, back in my day, I was good at recognising fellow fanboys.” 

“But what if they’re gender fluid?” Kyungsoo asked. 

Jongin ignored him, because playing the annoyingly clever detective side-kick was not helpful and should not be encouraged.

ShinChen had one of those frustrating profiles of someone wanting to remain anonymous but also trying to be funny. It wasn’t completely empty, but under name it said: “Anaconda”, under age: “69” and under interests: “buns”.

“Fanboy,” Jongin said.

“Why?”

“Women have a different sense of humour.”

"Really?" Kyungsoo said. "Impressive."

Actually, that was bullshit. 

Because, actually, Jongin already suspected someone.


	5. Chapter 5

Jongin walked onto the set more determined than ever. He brushed off a writer who looked like she just wanted to make some small talk and started searching every corner for Jongdae.

They would film a meeting with a wedding photographer today. The guy said there were no cameras allowed in his private photo studio - which sounded very contradictory to Jongin - but Sehun still insisted on working with him, so they would film in an office set which some sitcom wasn’t using right now. There was lots of hiding space and many fake walls and doors that didn’t lead anywhere.

He could be wrong about ShinChen’s identity. The details in the fic taken from unaired scenes meant it had to be someone who was involved in the filming, close enough to listen in. But that could be anyone here, someone who kept quiet and didn’t stand out like Jongdae did, or even an editor.

So he could be wrong, and that would be embarrassing, but he needed to have a conversation with Jongdae regardless. Their relationship was nearing the limit of how much someone can unsettle you just by looking at you a certain way. 

Also, with the added information of obsessive fanfiction writing, his imagination had reached the point of inventing a stalker. Last night, he’d felt like someone followed him home from the grocery store. He’d nearly had a heart attack over it, just a neighbour walking their dog.

He wanted to confront Jongdae today, right now, before Sehun discovered him and he’d be whisked away to do some more of the usual pretend-although-maybe-it’s-not-so-very-hard-to-make-it-look-real-swooning over Chanyeol.

Suddenly, as if summoned by this thought, Chanyeol’s face dominated his field of vision. 

“Hello,” Chanyeol greeted happily. His eyes were completely focused on Jongin from under a stylish wave of messy curls.

Jongin was instantly distracted, to the point where he forgot to breathe for a second, and also annoyed that a simple hello managed to break his concentration like this. 

For a few seconds he didn’t know how to react. In the end, he just tried to keep the frustration off his face as he nodded back. 

“How is my handsome husband feeling today?” Chanyeol asked with a smile.

Jongin was not in the mood to play along and joke around about being fake married right now. Not that he’d ever be. 

“Sorry,” he said, “there’s something I have to..,” and he managed to escape Chanyeol’s gaze and slide between two cameras towards a door he thought he’d just seen a familiar mop of hair disappear through.

The room was empty save for filing cabinets and a few equipment bags that Jongdae was rummaging through. Jongin slammed the door shut behind him and asked: “Are you ShinChen?!” maybe a little louder and more nervous sounding than he’d intended.

Jongdae jumped and turned around, backed up against the wall. “W-why? Who?” he stuttered, but his eyes betrayed him. There was recognition and surprise there. Jongin felt his confidence surge.

“Have you been writing fanfiction about us?”

Jongdae gave up on denial very quickly and broadened his stance. “Is that a crime?”

“So you admit it?”

“You don’t have to read it. I’m not doing it to make you uncomfortable… Can’t you just see it as a form of publicity?”

Jongin sighed. Okay, now, how to put this? “I know I can’t forbid you to write, but, please, when you’re imagining…whatever you’re imagining…try to make it less obvious. You’ve been staring at me all creepily since the first time we met, and it’s made me very uncomfortable. It gave me all these ideas….I thought you maybe were a crazy Chanyeol fan and planning to murder me.”

Jongdae didn’t look very guilty. He shrugged. “Well, I had to judge if you were good enough for him, of course,” he said, as if that was the obvious thing to do. “But you are. You look so good together.” There it was again, that intense stare, not that different from the way Chanyeol looked at him except much creepier. “Oh my god, you have no idea, it’s driving my muse insane.”

Jongin fought the urge to take a step back. He was trying to intimidate here, not to be intimidated. “I couldn’t care less what happens to your muse, and I know I can’t force you to find a different favourite pairing, but please stop creeping me out.” He had a sudden idea. “Does Chanyeol know?”

Jongdae nodded enthusiastically. “He knows. I’ve worked with him before and I asked for his opinion on my work. He told me he didn’t have time to read but to keep being creative and he gave me an autograph made out to ‘writer Kim’!” He smiled blissfully at the memory.

Damn, Jongin thought. No opportunity for blackmail then. 

Also, really? Chanyeol was okay with this?

“And, just so you know,” Jongdae said. “You’re not my OTP. My OTP will always be SeDan.”

Jongin didn’t care, he really didn’t, and yet he couldn’t stop himself asking: “SeDan?”

Jongdae looked around the tiny empty room and lowered his voice to a whisper. “Sehun’s husband is called Dante. Apparently he wants to stay completely out of the spotlight so no one is supposed to know that. I shouldn’t be telling you, but oh well, I only know his Italian name anyway.”

“…your OTP is Sehun and his mysterious husband?”

“Yes!” Jongdae said. “You realise the hardships. My muse loves them, even though we don’t know what Dante looks like. The scenes are so exquisite in my head, but other people think my stories contain an original character and don’t even want to give them a read. ChanKai is a nice break for me, much more mainstream.”

Jongin had a hard time believing how dead serious Jongdae sounded. “But…you work with Sehun. How do you maintain a professional relationship? It’s…creepy.” It wasn’t exactly disgust he felt, but he found it hard to understand how Jongdae combined his hobby with his job. He thought shipping was a part of idolising, and didn’t idolising have a dehumanising effect?

Jongdae rolled his eyes. “How is it weird to ship people who are actually married? That’s canon!”

“It’s weird to refer to a real life relationship as canon!”

“Dude,” Jongdae said. He picked up a small cable from one of the bags on the floor and pointed at Jongin with it. “I really admire your dancing and the way you make Chanyeol look all happy, but you need to chill. You seem…frustrated about something.” He walked to the door and opened it. Then he turned around and added. “Might I suggest you release some of that tension…sexually?” He wiggled his eyebrows and left.

Jongin just stood there, defeated, thinking he never even got an apology for imaginary invasion of his personal life and feeling like he seriously deserved it. 

Well, he thought, at least he knew what thoughts were behind the stares now.

He didn’t know if that made it better or worse.

There was a soft knock on the door and Chanyeol appeared in the opening.

“Jongin? Sehun is asking for us… are you okay?”

Jongin wanted to ask him, what he thought of Jongdae, and the fanfiction, but at the same time Chanyeol was the last person he wanted to discuss that with.

“I’m fine. Where do we need to go?”

He wanted to walk out of the room, but Chanyeol stopped him with a hand on his arm. Jongin froze.

“You don’t look fine, I’ll tell Sehun if you need a moment-”

Jongin shook his head and took another step, but Chanyeol tightened his grip. They were very close together now. Jongin could feel Chanyeol’s eyes burning into the side of his head.

“What did Jongdae say to you?” Chanyeol asked. “I just saw him walk out of here.” It sounded like a casual question, but there was a strained edge to his voice.

“Nothing important,” Jongin said.

“Are you sure? Did he say something about-“ Chanyeol stopped himself and cleared his throat. “Well, if you’re sure you’re okay, let’s go.”

 

Chanyeol was very professional in their conversation with the photographer. He came up with ideas for the wedding shoot as if it was a real, important personal event, and he made sure to ask Jongin for his opinion on every detail, but the glances he shot him between takes were different. 

He looked…worried. 

Jongin hated it. It turned out that the rare sight of Chanyeol looking unhappy wasn’t fun to witness. And also, it proved once again how fake this show was.

Almost as bad was the fact that Jongdae’s creepy glare hadn’t disappeared, but had been replaced today by a look of pure disapproval, clearly directed at him.

Jongin had a very hard time feigning excitement over idyllic backdrops and the colour of suits.

After filming together was finished, Chanyeol left somewhere during Jongin’s interview, without saying goodbye. The staff said he had a very busy schedule.

Jongin wished he had the courage to text him to ask if there was something wrong.

He tried to think of reasons why him talking to Jongdae might upset Chanyeol, but they were all improbable guesses. Whatever was bothering Chanyeol might just as well be completely unrelated to him. And he didn’t believe their relationship actually extended beyond the show into their personal lives, so it would be weird to ask about it.

 

Belle miaowed pitifully from the kitchen.

Kyungoo sighed and paused his typing. “Please feed her.”

“She’s not hungry,” Jongin said. “She just wants you to leave so she can reclaim the couch.”

“She seemed happy enough to share it with Chanyeol.”

“Are you jealous?”

Kyungsoo shrugged. “I’m just saying if she can deal with a stranger being here she can deal with me.”

“Or, you could leave,” Jongin suggested. “Why are you sitting on my couch writing business emails? Is your office flooded and the coffee shop closed?”

Kyungsoo didn’t even look up from his laptop. “I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s bothering you.”

Jongin avoided the question by pretending to be very interested in whatever was on TV. Some cooking show currently. He caught himself imagining what it would be like to prepare a meal together with Chanyeol.

He imagined Chanyeol with his hair pulled back and flour on his face, laughing, Chanyeol with his sleeves rolled up and professionally kneading dough, forcing all the muscles in his arms into action. He might taste something Jongin had prepared and compliment him on it.

Belle miaowed, and Sehun’s grin and loud voice cut through the fantasy. “You guys look so adorably domestic!”. Jongin had to shake his head to get rid of that image.

“Fine, don’t tell me what’s wrong with you,” Kyungsoo said. “But seeing how you haven’t explicitly told me to leave yet, I’m going to assume that I’m not the reason you look so depressed.”

Belle miaowed again. It sounded unusually sad.

Jongin looked towards the kitchen and frowned. “Maybe she is hungry after all.”

“Or,” Kyungsoo said, “she’s thinking about that cute guy she met here a few days ago and she misses him.” He gave Jongin a look. “Maybe that’s what’s wrong with her.”

 

They were in the same coffee shop as before - where once again a bunch of fans had their faces pressed up against the windows - in the middle of filming a conversation about what they would do today, when someone walked up to their table and handed Chanyeol an envelope.

“Oh, look,” Chanyeol said. He sounded genuinely surprised. “It must be a mission card! Our first.”

They were doing missions now? Jongin had simply assumed that was something exclusive to the original We Got Married. And Sehun was the perfect personification of a mission card anyway. He stared at the envelope suspiciously.

“Let’s read it together.” Chanyeol moved his chair over so close that their shoulders touched before he pulled the card out.

Chanyeol’s shoulder felt warm, even through his hoodie and Jongin’s shirt. A few faint indignant and/or aroused screeches sounded from outside.

“Oh, wow, um…” Chanyeol said. This time his surprise was so tangible that Jongin really doubted he was acting. He blinked a few times, willing his eyes to focus and read the two lines of text in front of him.

 

_Jongin’s parents would like to invite you over for dinner this evening and officially meet their son in law._

 _Get ready._

 

“That’s…really soon,” Chanyeol said, sitting back and thereby pulling his warm shoulder away. “We need to prepare a gift. And you need to tell me what your parents are like. How should I dress?" He looked down at his jeans and the soft hoodie that made him look incredibly cuddly even when he looked this worried. "Will this do?”

Jongin couldn’t say anything, or move at all.

“Jongin?”

“This…” Jongin glanced around. He probably looked directly into several cameras, trying to locate Sehun. His eyes fell on the fans outside. One of them had breathed on the glass and drawn a little heart. Someone else had had the same idea but drawn what Jongin thought was a little cat with an axe floating above its head. Sehun stood a little to the right of the cat, furiously gesturing at him to continue.

“You didn’t know about this?” Chanyeol asked carefully.

“No,” Jongin managed, “no, I…” and then he didn’t know what to say, again.

He was still looking at Sehun. Had the director contacted his parents? Maybe he’d even visited them, or sent someone. How much had he seen?

He wanted to say that this visit could not happen, that he wouldn’t allow it. But how would that make him look? Like Chanyeol wasn’t welcome in his family. He was being filmed. And he knew the editors would never cut out the juiciest bits to spare feelings.

“Maybe we should take a break,” Chanyeol suggested. Jongin wanted to thank him but couldn’t find his voice.

“Cut!” Sehun shouted. He walked up to them. “What’s the problem?”

Chanyeol was looking at Jongin. Sehun crossed his arms and looked at both of them expectantly.

“Do…do my parents know about this?” Jongin asked.

“Of course they do. We gave them a call. They sounded very excited to meet Chanyeol in person.”

Jongin tried very hard to stay calm and sound reasonable. “I don’t want to film there.”

Sehun lowered his arms, making his stance only a little bit less intimidating. “Why not? What do you have to worry about? Chanyeol is the one meeting the in laws for the first time.” He tilted his head. “Or are you ashamed of your parents?”

“No,” Jongin said, choosing his words carefully. “No, but I just.. I would like a little more time. Maybe…my parents need help tidying up the house.”

Sehun frowned. “Your house isn’t messy. Your mother sent me pictures.”

Ice cold dread settled in Jongin’s stomach.

“Of all the rooms?”

“Of the living room and kitchen, where I figured we’d be filming.”

“Hey.” The gentle touch of Chanyeol’s hand on his arm made Jongin realise how tense he was. “Are you okay?”

Chanyeol looked up at Sehun. “Let’s postpone filming. Let’s just finish up here and go home.”

“What?” Sehun shrieked. “No we won’t. We can’t fall behind on schedule.”

“I could really use a free afternoon and evening,” Chanyeol said, “there are too many things to do for the release of my new album.”

“I know,” Sehun said. “Which means it will be impossible to change your schedule to squeeze in a new filming time.”

“We’ll work something out,” Chanyeol said, “I’ll sacrifice some sleep for rehearsals. It’s fine.”

“Oh, sure you will, I know you hardly get any sleep as it is.”

Watching Sehun and Chanyeol argue only made Jongin more nervous. He stood up, excused himself and fled to the bathroom. They didn’t even seem to notice, caught up in a staring contest.

Luckily all the stalls were empty, and security guards were making sure no fans would enter the building. Still, Jongin considered the possibility of somebody listening in as he called Kyungsoo.

_”Hey, aren’t you supposed to be filming right now?”_

“They want to film at my parents’ house.”

_”Yes?”_

“That’s where _my old bedroom_ is.”

_”Oh, I see. …so?”_

“What do you mean ‘so’?! I can’t let them see it. Chanyeol can’t find out.”

_"Well, I think you’re overreacting. …you sound like you’re about to have a panic attack. Okay, what do you want me to do about it?”_

“Tell them we can’t film there. You’re my agent. Do something.”

_”I know I’m an amazing person who can get anybody to do what I want, but I also know Oh Sehun. If he’s set his mind on something, it’s easier to move a mountain than to change it, and I don’t feel like putting in the effort. Can’t you just dispose of the evidence beforehand?”_

“I’m stuck here. Will you go there and do it…please?”

_”Hey, I have other things to do. You don’t pay me enough to claim all of my time.“_

“Can’t you do it as my fr-”

Someone cleared their throat near the entrance to the toilets.

“I’ll call you back.” Jongin ended the call and peaked around the corner.

Luckily it wasn’t Chanyeol or Sehun standing there but some assistant. She shifted nervously. Either she was about to deliver bad news, or she’d picked up the angry tone in his voice just now. “Um, the director said to tell you that the location change will be postponed.”

“Thank you,” Jongin said, feeling incredibly relieved. “Thank you.”

Chanyeol was waiting for him at their table. Sehun stood off to the side, looking very grumpy and playing with his wedding ring. Jongin wondered how Dante dealt with Sehun’s moods, and then he fought to cut off that thought right there, because it led to imagining what Jongdae had written about it and probably angry fanfiction sex.

Chanyeol gave him a smile when he sat down. “We’re pretending the mission card didn’t happen, for now,” he said.

“No talking until the cameras are rolling!” Sehun shouted over him, which Jongin thought was unnecessary since Chanyeol was only briefing him about what they would be filming.

“Just chat about, I don’t know, whatever.” Sehun sighed dramatically, raising a hand to his face like he was about to faint in a sitcom. “My plans are already ruined anyway. Action!”

Jongin stared at the table, feeling a little bit guilty, more than a little bit, if it was true that Chanyeol was going to change his schedule for him. But it wasn’t just for him, was it? Chanyeol had said that he’d like some free time himself. He was probably thinking about it before and just jumped at the opportunity.

“Are your parents okay with you being gay?” Chanyeol asked carefully, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“Yes,” Jongin said immediately, looking up and sitting up straight to let his body language emphasise his answer. He didn’t want there to be any confusion as to how incredibly supportive his parents had always been of him.

Chanyeol nodded. “That’s good.”

There was a silence, during which Jongin debated whether it would be okay for him to ask the same question back.

Sehun made an impatient gesture indicating they were supposed to keep the conversation going.

“Are yours?” Jongin asked.

Chanyeol’s smile as he stared down at his drink was the saddest Jongin had ever seen. 

“They did have a little bit of a hard time with it, when I’d just come out.”

“Oh…I’m sorry. …and now?”

Chanyeol shrugged. “They’re still my parents. We’re cool.” He tried to look indifferent. Jongin didn’t know if it was his acting skills letting him down or some complicated way to gain sympathy from the audience, but he definitely failed to make it look convincing.

Jongin decided it would be wise not to comment on it.

Their conversation died a slow death from there. In a desperate attempt to keep it going and to maybe bring Chanyeol’s real smile back, Jongin asked if he could dance to one of his songs in his next video. And Chanyeol did seem very enthusiastic for a moment, but even Sehun could see that they’d run out of things to talk about now and called an end to the shoot.

Jongin wanted to leave as soon as possible. Postponed didn’t quite mean scrapped. He didn’t know how much time he had before filming would continue, and he had a lot of teaching to do the next two days. It would be best to pay his parents a visit right now.

Right when he was about to step outside, Chanyeol called his name behind him.

Jongin turned around and heard the fans scream on the other side of the glass.

Chanyeol glanced at how far away the closest girls were and then leaned in closer and whispered at him through the resulting noise. “My parents don’t talk to me anymore since I've come out. They've...our relationship is very painful. I didn’t want to say it in front of cameras and my fans, because I don’t want anyone to get crazy ideas. I don’t wish them ill. I’m just…I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with you just now. I hope you understand.”

Jongin thought about what to say, but Chanyeol turned around and walked back to where his manager and other staff waited for him.

Jongin stepped out onto the street on his own. Bodyguards kept the few fans that gave up watching Chanyeol through the glass to follow him at a distance until he could get into a taxi, which was something he hadn’t thought he’d ever get used to, but he hardly noticed it now.

He hardly noticed anything happening around him, trying to interpret Chanyeol’s words.

Next to the fact that happy virus, stay fruity superstar and gay role model Chanyeol had homophobic parents, what struck him the most was that Chanyeol had said something that wasn’t completely true during filming, but then apologised after. As if lying to him ‘because that’s just how the entertainment industry works’ was something he felt guilty about. As if lying to him was something Chanyeol wanted to avoid. Chanyeol didn't want to lie to him. Chanyeol wasn't fake with him?

Jongin felt a strange mix of confusion and hope, and then guilt of his own.

Had he lied to Chanyeol? By omission?

 

His mother looked confused. “You’re here. But I just had a call saying filming was cancelled.” She shook her head and hugged him. “But it’s always great to see my big boy. Look at you, all grown up and famous and on TV. Tell me, what’s it like, being married to the man of your dreams?”

Jongin took a deep breath. “Mom, he’s not the man of my dreams, and we’re not actually married.” He finally managed to free himself from the hug. “The people who contacted you about the show, did you show them my old room?”

She looked offended. “Of course not.”

Jongin was pleasantly surprised that she seemed to understand his feelings in the way that mothers typically do not, until she continued: “It’s all dusty. I wanted to show them, but I’ll have to clean it first.”

“I’ll do it.” Jongin brushed past her and opened the door to his old bedroom.

There was a shocking contrast to the bedroom in his own apartment, which had no personal decoration at all. Jongin remembered what this room looked like, but he’d tried hard not to think about it for the past few weeks, and it was strange to see it again with different eyes, for the first time since he’d started filming a show with Chanyeol.

For a moment he didn’t know where to start, or if he even wanted to.

This room was a personal memory bubble, a time capsule, reminding him of a period in his life which he’d rather conveniently forget now, but which had given him many good memories, with a lot of passion, and new friends, and the good kind of heartache of liking a celebrity so much it hurts even when you know you don’t really know them.

He eventually forced himself into action and started pulling down the posters, the printed out lyrics of Chanyeol’s older songs, which he’d luckily been too lazy to paint on, and the random collection of pictures by the wall above his bed.

Then he thought about what to do with the old guitar that had the same name as one of Chanyeol’s written on it with permanent marker, standing in the corner. He’d never learned to play it well, but it would be a waste to throw it out. Maybe there was some space in the attic where he could hide it.

And what to do with the posters he’d spent so many hours staring at. They were a bit cheesy, with exaggerated poses that seemed a little silly when he looked at them now. Chanyeol looked a lot younger too, barely an adult, back when he’d just started performing and still held onto his guitar like it was a lifeline, not an instrument. He didn’t ooze confidence then like he did now, but the adorable smile had always been there.

Maybe he’d roll them up and hide them under the bed. Maybe he’d also take the boxes with signed albums and random assortment of fan goods from his own apartment and bring them here. They would most likely only film here once, right? But then maybe Sehun specifically wanted him to share old memories here and ask him to open them. Would they be safer where they were?

Jongin sat down on the bed, wishing his mother was less sentimental and had turned this into a guest room as soon as he moved out. She’d had years to do it. He wished she wasn’t so fond of keeping things as they were to treasure memories. He wished he hadn’t inherited that from her.

His phone buzzed. Kyungsoo was calling him. Oh, right, he'd asked Kyungsoo for help.

“Problem solved. I have time to do it myself.”

 _”Thank you for letting me know,”_ Kyungsoo was at his most sarcastic. _”Boy am I glad I didn’t worry at all about you having a mental breakdown for the past hour or so.”_

Jongin winced. “Sorry I forgot to call.”

_”…are you okay?”_

“Fine.”

Kyungoo hummed. _”I see. Are you…finally ready to talk about your complicated relationship with Chanyeol now? Past and present?”_

“There’s nothing you don’t know. I’ve told you that I’ve left my days as a fan behind me.”

_”I know. Which is why I thought it wouldn’t be a problem to pair you up with him.”_

“I just don’t want him to know. It’s embarrassing.”

_”I don’t see why.”_

“I’ve tried so hard, so hard, to avoid even thinking about it. Me being his fan, I felt even thinking about the word would put me at a disadvantage. I’m trying to be famous myself. I know I’ll never reach his level, but I need to at least behave like a confident, mature person.”

_”Has the thought ever crossed your mind that lots of famous mature people are fans of other people, and the confident ones are honest about it? Also, you complained really hard about being nothing compared to him, for someone who tried so hard to present himself as his equal.”_

“They’re not obsessed, teenage, drooling-over-posters fans like I was. And I was only comparing us professionally. I’m trying to think of it that way only. I’m trying to be professional.”

_“I really don’t see the problem. You know each other a little now and he seems to like you. There is nothing inherently wrong with drooling over posters except that drooling is gross. How hard can it be to just go up to him and say ‘hey, I used to be your fan, I have always loved your music, it’s really nice to work with you, you’re cool in real life too’. Have you thought about simply doing that?”_

“You don’t understand. Fans are just…on a completely different level. Look at all the celebrities saying they’d never date a fan-”

_”So the problem is that you want to date him and you’re afraid you having been his fan will put him off?”_

Jongin ignored that comment because it wasn’t worthy of being acknowledged.

“- and we don’t know each other, filming is strictly professional."

_”Maybe, just a suggestion, it would help if you tried to be a little less professional and a little more genuine in your interactions with him.”_

Jongin didn’t know what to say to that. It felt like Kyungsoo just slapped him in the face with the accusations he always directed at Chanyeol himself.

 _”Are they treating you right on set?”_ Kyungsoo asked. _”Tell me if they’re mean, I’ll have a word with Sehun about it. But that’s all I can do. I don’t think I can help you with this emotional anguish any more than this if I don’t understand what's the real problem.”_

 

 **Slayhun:** Sorry about planning that visit to the parents without telling you  
**Slayhun:** I thought it would be a fun surprise  
**Slayhun:** …  
**Slayhun:** You’re not talking to me anymore, I see  
**Slayhun:** Aw, baby, don’t be like this  
**Slayhun:** …  
**Slayhun:** Hey, how could I know Jongin would react so negatively? You know him better than I do.

 **NotYourBaby:** You called him Jongin  
**NotYourBaby:** You called him by his actual name

 **Slayhun:** Yes…maybe I’m starting to warm up to him a little bit, even when his mysterious sensitivities ruin my plans  
**Slayhun:** …am I forgiven?

 **NotYourBaby:** I’ll think about it


	6. Chapter 6

Taking down and hiding all the evidence of his Chanyeol phase was supposed to make him feel better. So why, even with his belly full of his mother’s amazing food, did Jongin still feel sad on his way home?

He could already hear Belle miaowing at him as he unlocked the door to his apartment. She went quiet when it opened and started circling his legs as he stepped inside.

“Are you glad to see me?” Jongin asked.

Her answer was to stop brushing her soft fur against his ankles and run ahead in the direction of her food bowl.

“I knew it,” Jongin muttered to the empty hallway, but then, as usual, he immediately went to refill the bowl and lovingly stroked Belle’s patchy fur for a moment, which she grudgingly tolerated because she was busy chewing.

“At least you don’t care what I say or how I present myself,” he said. “You don’t care if I’m not amazing like Chanyeol or confident like Kyungsoo, as long as I feed you.”

Belle stopped eating when he said Kyungsoo’s name and turned around to look up at him with her grumpy little face, as if to say ‘I don’t understand why you’re friends with that guy anyway’, which of course was purely coincidental, but it made Jongin chuckle all the same.

 

In movies and TV shows, dancers were among the popular kids in high school, maybe excluding classical ballet, but being skilled in any other dance apparently put you way up there in the food chain.

Jongin used to think the reason real life didn’t work that way was that dancers in movies and TV shows are always good-looking, and the points he gained by dancing were deduced for his appearance, maybe.

His mother thought he was the most handsome boy in the world, but his mother was biased so that didn’t rule anything out.

He believed his puberty stricken face had to be the reason nobody even seemed to be aware of his existence, until he met Kyungsoo.

Met was the wrong word, really. They had been attending the same school for years, but it was with only two years left until graduation that Jongin first started to pay attention to this guy everyone fawned over during lunch breaks.

Kyungsoo wasn’t a dancer, and he also didn’t do anything else that made him fit a Hollywood stereotype. Most importantly, he wasn’t particularly handsome, Jongin - someone who had just discovered this new extremely cute singer-songwriter and was thereby forced to come to terms with his sexuality - decided he was qualified to be the judge of this.

Kyungsoo would grow into a - especially when he chose to be - charming man later, by the time Jongin would know him so well that he had to rely on others to point it out to him, but as a teenager Kyungsoo was mostly a short and grumpy-looking boy with an ill fitting uniform, because he simply didn’t have the shoulder width to properly fill up his size.

And yet, he was popular. Not the I-want-to-copy-that-nerd’s-homework popular, but the actual everyone either wanted him or wanted to be him popular.

And so Kyungsoo, by example, taught Jongin that looks can deceive and that confidence is key. 

Because that was what it was, Kyungsoo always looked so confident, and confidence, not to be confused with arrogance, was sexy.

It wasn’t until later, after they had bonded over the incident with the frogs in the principal’s office - when they were both in the wrong hallway at the wrong time and spent all of detention convincing each other of their innocence - and they had become friends, that Jongin learned that Kyungsoo had been lonely despite his confidence and popularity. 

And then he learned that the well kept secret reason Kyungsoo appeared so confident and mature was that his mother had died of cancer when he was only nine and his father had expected of him to ‘deal with it like a man’ and mostly left him to fend for himself from that point on. 

That had been a very emotional talk which resulted in their first time being outrageously drunk and Jongin apparently threatening to rip all irresponsible parents in the nation a new one, among other juicy one-liners, according to Soojung, the least drunk of the two friends Kyungsoo confided in that evening. Good thing camera phones weren’t big yet back then.

The point was, though, that Kyungsoo had the looks and backstory of someone who got bullied, and possessed no talents other than keeping his grades suspiciously level at just-passing, but he got people to do what he wanted by merely looking at them a certain way.

 

His phone beeped.

Jongin expected a message from Kyungsoo reminding him, again, that it was time to choreograph and film and upload a new dance video, which was all he talked about these days besides Chanyeol and We Got Married.

But no, it was Chanyeol’s name above the message that had made the screen of his phone light up. Jongin sat down on the couch as he read the short sentence.

 

 **Chanyeol:** Is it okay if I call you?

 

Jongin probably would have known it was Chanyeol who sent this even without the name. The other people in his life just called him when they wanted to, whether he was busy or not, and simply expected him to answer - the only way to avoid Kyungsoo when he really wanted to talk was to turn off his phone completely, toss it off a bridge and move to the countryside.

He tried not to think about why Chanyeol would want to call him.

 _be more genuine_ his inner Kyungsoo reminded him when his thumb seemed frozen, hovering over the screen.

He forced himself to answer with the first word that popped into his head.

 

 **Jongin:** Always

 

He immediately cringed after he’d hit send. Why couldn’t he just have typed ‘yes’? Why? But then his phone was ringing and he obviously wouldn’t get away with not answering it so he had no time to further question his decision. Maybe he would get away with it.

“Hi?” _keep your voice steady, sound natural, be confident_

 _“Hi, did you mean that?”_ there was a cute, almost nervous laugh mixed in with Chanyeol’s words. _“I can always call you?”_

Nope, not getting away with it.

“Uh, yeah, sure, I mean.. I can’t promise I’ll always pick up, I mean, but..”

_“I understand that,”_ Chanyeol said, _"but I’m really glad you don’t mind talking to me outside of the show.”_

Oh.. off camera Chanyeol, talking to him, alone. That was happening. 

“Why..um, no that I mind, I really don’t, but what do you want to talk about?” 

The answer came instantly _“I wanted to ask if you’re okay.”_

For a terrifying second, Jongin feared that Chanyeol somehow found out about the evidence disposal of his fanboy past this afternoon. But no, of course not, this was about the cancelled filming. “I’m… yes, I’m okay?” 

And then he remembered Chanyeol’s revelation about his parents. “Are you?” 

_“Yes, I..”_ Chanyeol hesitated before he continued: _“I’m not the one who turned white as a sheet when that mission card was revealed.”_

“That was..” Jongin started. “That was because..” This conversation so far consisted of little more than stuttering. But what could he say to this? 

_“No, I don’t mean to pry again!”_ Chanyeol quickly said. _“I already feel bad about making you uncomfortable earlier. I wanted to apologise for asking you about your parents when the cameras were rolling. I shouldn’t have. I kind of…forgot where we were. That was unprofessional of me.”_

Jongin hadn’t minded that part at all. “You didn’t do anything wrong,” he said. It wasn’t the mentioning of his parents that had made him uncomfortable. But he couldn’t say that without making Chanyeol even more curious about the real reason. He had to say something to steer their conversation in a different direction. “Sehun could be a bit more patient sometimes though, don’t you think?” 

_“I know, I’m sorry,”_ Chanyeol said, which was stupid, because there was no reason for him to apologise on behalf of Sehun. Jongin had only hoped they could complain about his antics together. Scrap that plan. 

“It’s okay,” he said. “I don’t really mind,” He tried for another topic change. “I’m jealous you managed to forget where you were though. The cameras and crew everywhere still make me nervous all the time.” He realised he sounded kind of silly, but at least he was being honest. 

_“I’m sorry,”_ Chanyeol said… again. 

Okay, Jongin was done with this. “Stop it,” he said, no more stuttering. “Why are you apologising for everything? Are you okay?” 

He could hear Chanyeol breathe in and then pause. Jongin would never find out what he was hesitating to say, because as he waited, Belle decided to jump onto the couch next to him and miaow loudly for no apparent reason. 

_“Was that Belle?”_ Chanyeol asked. _“Am I keeping you from feeding her?”_

Chanyeol remembered the name of his cat? 

“Yes,” Jongin said. “And no, she just finished eating.” He reached out and stroked Belle’s back. She looked up at him, maybe even at the phone in his hand. And then she miaowed again, loudly and pitifully. 

“I swear I just fed her,” Jongin said, “And I’m giving her attention, too. She just likes to complain sometimes.” He didn’t want Chanyeol to think he was a bad pet owner. 

_“I believe you,”_ Chanyeol said. He didn’t sound troubled anymore like he had when he kept apologising. That was good. _“Can I talk to her?”_

“Um…over the phone?” 

_“That’s silly, right? I know. I should just get my own cat if I want to talk to one.”_ Jongin didn’t think Chanyeol said it to make him feel guilty, but he couldn’t help but hear a hint of disappointment. 

“No, of course you can. Wait, I’ll.. I’ve put you on speaker.” 

_“Hello, Belle.”_ Chanyeol had a really soothing voice, one that would be so perfect for telling bedtime stories. 

Somehow, even Belle-in-a-grumpy-mood seemed to notice this. She sat down and stared at the phone, like she was a dog and Chanyeol had just given her the command. Jongin was dumbfounded. 

_“Jongin has to deal with an eccentric film crew and a pushy producer and, worst of all, me almost every day, so if he seems a little stressed at home I think he needs cuddles, not miaowing.”_

Chanyeol didn’t put on the baby voice some people use when they talk to animals, nor did he sound embarrassed to be talking over the phone to a cat who might not even be listening. He sounded dead serious, which was so adorable Jongin could barely handle it. 

_“Did she walk away halfway through?”_

Jongin took a long time realising that was meant for him. 

_“Jongin? Are you still there?”_

“I didn’t, she didn’t.. I mean, she’s still listening.” 

_“Really?”_ Chanyeol sounded genuinely happy about that. 

“Why would you say you’re the worst?” 

He expected Chanyeol to laugh and say it was a joke, but he didn’t. 

_“I can’t always be completely honest with you when there are cameras around. I’m sorry. I hope you understand. I do try to be myself as much as I can.”_

Chanyeol had already apologised for the same thing earlier today. Incidentally, this was the thing Jongin felt most uncomfortable about. Did Chanyeol truly want to be real with him? Was he not just saying this for the sake of the show? 

Jongin hated himself for doubting every single thing Chanyeol ever said, and yet he couldn’t stop himself. That damn lack of confidence. His inner Kyungsoo was surely preparing a furious rant. 

_“Jongin?”_

Jongin took his phone off speaker. Sharing Chanyeol’s voice with Belle almost made him feel a little jealous. He did scratch her behind her ears, mostly to calm his nervously beating heart. Would he ever get used to Chanyeol saying his name? 

“I understand,” he said. “You don’t need to apologise again. And I.. I wanted to say I’m sorry about your parents.” Was that out of bounds? Too personal? 

_“Thank you,”_ Chanyeol said, _“but don’t be. It’s okay. I’m not ashamed of who I am. There are a lot of people who love and support me. I’m very lucky.”_

Still, Jongin wanted to say, they’re your parents.. But he knew that would definitely be pushing it. 

_“You asked earlier if you could dance to one of my songs in your next video. Did you mean that?”_ See, Chanyeol seemed keen to change the subject. And.. Chanyeol doubted his honestly? Jongin knew he was being the definition of a hypocrite, but that stung. 

“I did. I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t mean it. Did you mean it when you said that I could?” 

_“I would be honoured, I really would. I just had to discuss with my agency. I did as soon as I could and they like the idea. I didn’t mean to insult you. I just wondered if you had to still get an okay as well.”_

Jongin wanted to say that he could do whatever he want as long as he was allowed to use the music, but he stopped himself. He realised that Chanyeol wasn’t nearly as free as he was. 

“I only need your okay,” he said instead. Same message but a little more subtle. 

_“You have it,”_ Chanyeol said. _“Any song you like, a remix is fine. I asked if I could send you some songs from the new album before it’s released but I’m not allowed. I feel bad now that we’ve scrapped a song that was going to be more upbeat and easier to dance to. I should have realised you might have liked that one.”_

“Why didn’t you like it?” Jongin asked. He really didn’t think his opinion mattered in which songs made it on Chanyeol’s albums. 

_“I did like it, but there’s a rap and we decided that didn’t fit my image.”_

‘We’ probably meant ‘they’, if not for any other reason he could tell from the sadness in Chanyeol’s voice. That pissed Jongin off much more than the loss of some song with a good beat. “Your rap is amazing, you should totally do it more!” 

He had spoken without thinking. 

_“…you’ve heard me rap?”_ Chanyeol asked. 

What a stupid mistake. The last time Chanyeol rapped must have been years ago, on some variety show. Jongin didn’t even think that was on youtube. No person who wasn’t a die hard fan would have ever heard that. 

“I.. think I did..” he tried, “Didn’t you rap in one of your hits? I might be confusing you with someone else.” Stupid, stupid, he was such an idiot, and now he sounded disinterested on top of it. 

_“No,”_ Chanyeol said. He didn’t sound offended. _“That must have been someone else. But that’s okay, I don’t think I’m that good anyway.”_

You are, Jongin was dying to say, you so are. 

He heard a muffled voice in the background on Chanyeol’s end of the line. 

_“I have to go,”_ Chanyeol said, sounding apologetic. _“There’s a late night radio show on my schedule tonight. I forgot the time.”_

Jongin checked the time. Had they been talking this long? And did Chanyeol still have to work this late? Did he waste this much time on a phone call when he could have been napping? 

“Thank you… for calling,” he said. 

_“Thank you for answering,”_ Chanyeol said. Jongin could hear the warm smile in his voice that had once had the power to melt his heart - oh, it still did. 

“I’ll see you…” Jongin tried to remember when the next day of filming was scheduled, and discovered he was actually looking forward to it. 

_“Tell Belle goodnight from me,”_ Chanyeol said, and then he was gone. 

Jongin lowered his phone from his ear and stared at it. 

Belle was softly purring next to him. He had been absentmindedly stroking her back for a while now. 

He didn’t know if Kyungsoo was still awake, so he sent him a message instead of calling. 

 

**Jongin:** Remember that time when I lost a bet and you made me dance in heels?  
**Jongin:** …do you still have those? 

 

Kyungsoo was still awake, because the answer came instantly. 

 

**Kyungsoo:** Jongin, I think your phone was hacked. Call me when you read this. 

**Jongin:** I haven’t been hacked. I’m serious. I’m thinking of wearing them in my new video.  
**Jongin:** Maybe it would be better if I buy a new pair. Where did you get them that time? 

 

Now Kyungsoo was calling him. Jongin sighed and answered. 

“Yes, I’m serious.” 

_“You barely talked to me for a month after you’d posted that video. What made you change your mind about this?”_

“I’ve decided I’m not ashamed of who I am.” 

_“…you don’t need to enjoy wearing heels to qualify as gay, I thought we’d been over that.”_

“Yes, I know, and I know I made you feel really bad about making me wear them when it was just for fun. Sorry for that, I overreacted at the time. I.. I didn’t really mind it, it was a fun challenge. I thought it might be a fun way to change things up for my next video.” 

_“Okay…”_ Kyungsoo didn’t sound convinced. _“If you’re sure about this…I’ll send you a link to the website.”_

“Thank you. And thank you for telling me to be more genuine with Chanyeol. I think you might be right, that’s better.” 

_“Did something happen I don’t know about? Wait..did you tell him about your fanboy past?”_

Keeping things from Kyungsoo was basically impossible. The only trick Jongin found had ever worked was confusing him with compliments. “No, just wanted to say I appreciate your friendship. And you’re a good agent, too.” 

There was a long silence. Jongin waited. 

_“…Are you okay? Did you have a mental breakdown after all? Do I need to come over?”_

Jongin smiled and shook his head, two things he knew Kyungsoo couldn't see.

“I’m good.” 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the lovely comments and being so patient! Every single new comment motivates me to keep working at this even when I'm tired and stressed out from work.

There was no phone call or message from Chanyeol the next day, or the day after. 

It wasn’t like Jongin expected him to call again or anything, but he just couldn’t help checking his phone, pretty much constantly.

He couldn’t think of any reason good enough to interrupt Chanyeol’s busy schedule, so he didn’t call either.

He still hadn’t told Kyungsoo about their off camera talk. He wasn’t sure why. It kind of felt like he and Chanyeol shared a secret, or rather, he, Chanyeol and Belle shared a secret. And Belle wouldn’t tell. 

Luckily, Kyungsoo hadn’t asked him about the stupid grin on his face yet. He might not even have noticed it, because ever since he’d confirmed that Jongin was serious about this, he wouldn’t stop talking about the new video idea.

“This is going to be so good! You’ll be dancing to one of your super famous husband’s songs, looking fierce in your heels, and everybody knows your Beyoncé video is Chanyeol’s all time favourite.”

Jongin sighed. “But everybody who watches We Got Married-“

“You mean, literally everybody,” Kyungsoo interrupted.

“Okay…so literally everybody also heard me say I didn’t like making that video. Won’t they think I’m doing it just to get more views?”

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. “Dude, nobody cares why you do stuff as long as you do it well. And I’ve heard hardly anybody complain about you leeching off Chanyeol’s fame. Fans are way more interested in whether or not you’ve secretly made out yet.”

Jongin’s mind immediately snapped to the idea of Jongdae writing a very elaborate scene in which exactly that happened. He cringed… a little bit. _Wait, no, stop imagining this._

“And by the way, it will seem like you’re doing it just for him, which is adorable.” Kyungsoo gave him a knowing look. “And also, incidentally, totally the truth.”

“No it isn’t.” 

Jongin was painfully aware of how weak his denial sounded.

Kyungsoo just hummed, and nodded, and took a sip of his latte.

 

The address Kyungsoo had relayed to him was somewhere at the edge of town, on a road leading up to the mountains. Jongin didn’t have a manager to drive him, so he simply took the bus and walked there from the nearest stop.

The place his navigation app pointed him to was a country house, more like a palace in its size and splendour.

The only entrance visible from the street was an arched gateway leading into a courtyard with a fountain in the middle, which was all Jongin could make out from where he was standing. It looked like the private property of someone outrageously rich.

Jongin was about to call Kyungsoo to say that his information was incorrect and to ask new directions to some run-down studio where the crew was probably waiting for him, but then a girl he’d seen on set before walked through the gate and called him over.

“Good, you’re here! We need you at hair and makeup now. Come on. Today is a special day.”

When Jongin followed her, he spotted more familiar people walking around the courtyard, carrying lights and other equipment. Their faces seemed a little tense. 

He didn’t see Chanyeol, but he didn’t get much time to look around either, being led up to the porch that surrounded the courtyard, then inside the house, through an open door and into a chair, where the girl, Doyeon he believed, started to work on his face immediately. 

She and two other women had transformed the room into an impressive little studio. It seemed they had brought all the beauty cases they owned. The only thing that was lacking was a mirror.

Usually when he arrived on set, there was a lot of waiting. Someone would ‘fix up his hair a bit’, followed by more waiting, and possibly a pre-shoot interview by the woman who never blinked. 

Hair and makeup had never been this efficient nor elaborate. The only reason they even hired these artists, Jongin suspected, was that Sehun thought Jongin’s style was too casual sloppy to fit into the professional production he envisioned this show to be. 

Jongin loved dressing up and looking good, honestly, and Sehun’s not so subtle sneers did sting a bit. But the truth was he had spent so much of his time working the past few years, dancing and teaching and sweating, that he hadn’t kept up an every day hair and makeup routine, or fashion sensitive wardrobe. 

If he moved fast enough, no one really saw what he looked like in his videos anyway.

Chanyeol probably went to some fancy salon to get ready for the day. He always looked flawless when he arrived on set, so Jongin didn’t expect to see him here.

It seemed like they were on a very tight schedule today. He’d only been here five minutes when Jongdae walked in to give him his mike.

Jongin seriously wondered why his voice needed to be recorded already when they hadn’t even started filming yet, but he knew it meant this was his last chance to ask potentially stupid questions. “Why is today a special day?” he asked.

Doyeon chuckled. Jongdae actually looked offended. “Do you really not know? He shot the women a look of exasperation. “He doesn’t know!”

“It’s your wedding photo shoot,” Doyeon explained calmly as she tapped his face with a brush. “Which is exciting enough in itself, but we got the most famous photographer in the continent! We’re so lucky Sehun knows him personally.”

Jongin remembered he’d met this photographer already, when they’d talked about the theme of this shoot. He had no idea this guy was such a big deal. He could hardly remember what they’d even discussed with him. He did remember exposing ShinChen that day, and Chanyeol looking worried. 

He wondered what had worried Chanyeol, and whether it had something to with Jongdae. Jongdae, by the way, hadn’t been discouraged in the slightest by their conversation. Jongin knew, not because he regularly checked for fanfiction updates, but because Kyungsoo did. Kyungsoo got a good laugh out of reading parts out loud to annoy him.

It was when Jongin was seriously getting off track with this pointless train of thought that Chanyeol walked in.

“Good morning.”

There were five people in this room, but Chanyeol only looked at him. Jongin made a valiant attempt at hiding his surprise.

“Hi…good morning,” he said.

Nobody else said anything, like they were giving the two of them some space. Not literally, of course, Doyeon continued working on his face and Jongdae handed him a mike to clip to his shirt.

Chanyeol’s hair looked unintentionally fluffy and disheveled and he had dark circles you never got to see on TV or in his photos. One of the women whose name Jongin couldn’t remember pulled out a chair for him. 

This was truly a special day if Chanyeol was getting ready on set. 

“I don’t often encounter such a bare face on a celebrity,” his makeup artist said, “did you even moisturise?”

“I overslept,” Chanyeol said apologetically. 

She tsk’ed at him. “Impressive dark circles young man. Let’s see what we can do about that.”

“No wonder,” the third woman in the room said. “If you do late night radio interviews every other day.”

“Promoting my new album,” Chanyeol said, as if he actually had to defend himself.

“You do a really good job though,” Doyeon said, suddenly sounding a little shy. “That little rap improv last night was impressive.”

“You rapped?!” Jongin asked, perhaps a little too enthusiastic.

“You didn’t listen to the show?” Jongin had almost forgotten Jongdae was still standing next to him. His eyes had been on Chanyeol ever since he’d walked in. “What kind of husband are you?” Jongdae said.

Doyeon hummed in agreement. Jongin felt heat rise to his cheeks and he looked down at his hands to avoid the looks directed at him, but Doyeon told him to tilt his head back and sit still.

“He’s probably the kind of husband who looks after himself and sleeps at night,” Chanyeol said, without so much as a glance at Jongdae. He did manage to give Jongin a smile before he too was reminded to keep still and to close his eyes.

The truth was, Jongin did feel that urge to listen to every radio show Chanyeol did, download every picture taken of him and read every tweet he sent out into the world. He didn’t need Kyungsoo - who made attempts all the time - or anyone else to convince him. But then when he did give in to the temptation, it always made him feel sad.

It wasn’t even that he worried about returning to his obsessive fanboy past. It was that it never felt the way it had before. 

He couldn’t get excited about pictures the way he used to. He knew Chanyeol was much more breathtaking in person. And he couldn’t help but doubt whether his answers in interviews and tweets were his genuine thoughts or not. Chanyeol had said so himself, during their private conversation, that he couldn’t always be completely honest when there were cameras around.

Doyeon and Jongdae probably knew this, but they seemed not to care. They loved everything Chanyeol did, genuine or fake. Maybe they were better fans than he was. Jongin didn’t even want to go back to being a fan, but still that thought made him sad.

“They’re right,” he said. “I wish I hadn’t missed it.”

“If you want…” Chanyeol said, “I could-“

“Hold that thought!” Jongdae interrupted. “You’re not wearing your mike yet. Sehun wants to record everything today, including you getting ready. I don’t know why there are no camera’s-”

“We’re here,” a voice came from the door.

“About time,” Jongdae muttered as he started to attach Chanyeol’s mike to his shirt, which took him way too long. Jongin hated to see him standing so close. Why didn’t Chanyeol just say he could do it himself and take over? Jongin had done that.

Jongdae caught his glare and shot him a big smile. Did he do it on purpose? Seriously? Why would-

“You’re both here, good,” Sehun interrupted Jongin’s thoughts. 

Sehun walked into the room and instructed one of the cameramen to capture Chanyeol’s face at a better angle. 

“We’re still setting up outside and I have to be there,” he said. “I trust you know what to do by now, just…start over if you were having a conversation already. Give me something fun to edit.” And just as quickly as he’d arrived, he was gone again. Jongdae followed him out.

There was an awkward silence after that.

Jongin wanted to know what Chanyeol had been about to tell him about the radio interview he missed, but he didn’t know if maybe it was something only off camera Chanyeol would have said.

He didn't need to wonder about that anymore when Chanyeol was the first to break the silence, with something completely different.

“Have you started on the choreography for your next video yet?”

Jongin thought for a moment about how on camera Jongin should answer this.

“No spoilers,” he said.

On camera Chanyeol smiled, very professionally. “Okay. I’m looking forward to it.”

The silence returned after that, and lasted. 

Jongin doubted this was what Sehun had meant by ‘something fun to edit’.

Doyeon was actually the first to speak again. “All done,” she said. “You can follow Yoonah now.”

“Let’s get you dressed up,” the woman not working on Chanyeol’s face said. So far she’d just been standing there waiting while the other two worked. Jongin didn’t think he’d seen her on set before.

“Dressed up?” he asked.

Yoonah laughed. “I hope you didn’t think we’d let you get married in these clothes.” She gestured at the slacks and shirt he was wearing. 

Jongin was used to spending most of his time in comfortable dance wear. He didn’t own a suit. On the rare occasions he got invited to a formal event, he rented one. So this was the nicest set of clothes he had. He felt slightly embarrassed about that now.

“I’d marry him in a heartbeat looking like this,” Chanyeol said.

The three women all went ‘aww’ as Jongin looked at Chanyeol, who smiled back at him.

Wait, this was smooth professional on camera Chanyeol…right?

He got no time to find out, because Yoonah and Doyeon ushered him out of the room.

Yoonah led him through a large hallway and Jongin had to walk fast to keep up with her. Everybody seemed to be in such a hurry today.

One of the cameramen trailed closely behind them all the way, but when they reached a door and Yoonah turned around to give him a stern look, he lowered his camera and said he’d wait here.

The room Yoonah led him into was a clearly a bedroom, but the most prominent furnishings were a clothing rack and a folding screen. Yoonah picked two items of clothing off the rack and handed them to him. She pointed to the screen.

“If you can put that on for me, I’ll get everything else ready.”

Jongin did as he was told, glad she granted him a little privacy. She’d given him a white dress shirt and black trousers with strips of fabric covering the seams that felt like satin. There was no belt, but braces to hold them up.

When he was done and walked out from behind the screen she walked around him, inspecting the fit and adjusting the shirt. The trousers were a bit loose around his waist, but she pulled them tight and did something behind his back and suddenly they weren’t.

Next, she picked up a very expensive looking pair of dress shoes. “I heard you haven’t really been dressed for shoots before.”

“Not really,” Jongin said. He tried on the shoes and was surprised to find they fit perfectly. Maybe Kyungsoo had given Yoonah his size.

She smiled. “Today will be fun. You’re going to look amazing.”

When he’d tied the shoes she wrapped a kind of black pleated sash around his waist. Jongin had seen these before on more stylish men than himself, but he didn’t know the name of it.

The two items that completed this outfit were a bow tie and a satin lined jacket that matched the trousers. There was something off about the jacket. When Jongin put it on it felt and looked like he was wearing loose pieces of fabric, like it wasn’t quite finished.

“Don’t worry,” Yoonah said when he lifted his arms and looked at her questioningly, “that’s what I’m here for.” She pulled out a sewing kit. “Now, I’m going to make this fit you perfectly, but we don’t have all day, so I’m going to rush the parts that are the least visible, like under your arms and behind your back. You need to keep that in mind when posing.” She hummed. “The rest may need some tweaking as well, we’d better get started.”

 

When he finally made his way back to the courtyard, which was where Yoonah had told him to go, Jongin felt like another man. He’d passed a mirror in the hallway, and if the man he saw in it hadn’t moved exactly when he did, he would have believed it was a portrait of someone else.

Doyeon had done something magical to his skin and hair, and her subtle makeup looked ten times better than anything he’d experimented with himself. The way the suit fit his body and the expensive feel of the fabric somehow gave him confidence boost, even if the fit was just a temporary fix and Yoonah had urged him not to move around more than absolutely necessary. 

Jongin tried to walk with the dignity that he felt when he looked at himself, but he ended up almost running, eager to show someone the result of his transformation.

He only slowed down a little when he was outside, looking around as he walked down the porch stairs. 

The fountain in the centre of the courtyard was truly excessive, with multiple levels and lifelike marble horses rising up from the lowest basin, fiercely bucking up amidst the water cascading down from the level above.

Jongin only spotted Chanyeol when he’d started to make his way around this. He recognised him even through a curtain of water. Sehun and the photographer were standing next to him, but Jongin hardly even noticed them.

Chanyeol must have gotten changed in another room, because he was wearing the same outfit Jongin was.

Jongin didn’t realise he’d frozen in place until someone bumped into him from behind and something hard collided with his head.

“Sorry! Sorry, you stopped so suddenly…I mean, I didn’t pay attention,” the cameraman who’d followed him here from the door of his dressing room said as Jongin winced and rubbed his head. 

“Don’t worry about it.” He was fine, honestly, and it was technically his fault. He wanted to tell the man that he should worry about his camera instead.

“Are you okay?” Jongin felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around at the sound of Chanyeol’s voice. Chanyeol’s eyes were full of concern. Other people were starting to gather around them. Had this little collision looked so bad?

Chanyeol’s eyes being focused on him so intently was a bit overwhelming, so Jongin lowered his own.

Chanyeol’s crisp black suit hugged his body and accentuated the shape of it in all the right places.

Maybe Jongin wasn’t fine.

“It’s…fine…just gonna have a little bump,” he muttered. He kept rubbing the sore spot, until he remembered that Doyeon had styled his hair.

“It looked like that lens hit you hard,” Chanyeol said. “You’re not dizzy at all?”

Maybe Jongin was a little dizzy, but not because he hit his head.

“Oh please,” Sehun said from behind Chanyeol. “Look at him, he’s fine. We’ve got a shoot to get on with.”

Chanyeol ignored him completely. “We can always reschedule, if you don’t feel well,” he said, without taking his eyes off Jongin.

“No we absolutely cannot!” Sehun exclaimed.

“Perfect,” someone else said.

Jongin looked past Chanyeol just in time to see their famous photographer raising a camera and taking a picture of them.

“These expressions are perfect. I was worried you were going to put on nothing but exaggerated fake lovey dovey smiles today, but this, this depth of feeling, I can work with this.”

Chanyeol didn’t react to that either, he was still looking at him. Jongin actually wouldn’t mind if Chanyeol stopped looking so genuinely concerned and gave him an exaggerated stay fruity commercial smile right now.

“I’m okay,” he said when he’d finally gathered up the courage to look into Chanyeol’s eyes. 

Chanyeol finally smiled then. “You look amazing,” he said.

Jongin’s heart skipped a beat. 

“So do you,” he managed to say with an acceptably steady voice. Chanyeol looked more than amazing. 

Jongin wondered if Chanyeol realised that if he had gotten himself an actual concussion just now, that would so have been the reason.

 

The famous photographer was named Byun Baekhyun. Jongin should have remembered this from when they’d met him before, but he’d had to ask Doyeon when she carefully fixed his hair over the fresh bump on the back of his head. 

Doyeon had told him the name and then looked around and whispered into his ear: “A little advice, cover your mike when you ask stupid questions.”

Baekhyun seemed to be the same age as Chanyeol - which made it painfully clear that Jongin couldn’t blame his age for his lack of fame - and he was not as tall as Sehun, nor as loud, but he was certainly handsome enough to be a model himself rather than a photographer. As the photographer and producer were standing together, discussing today’s shoot, Jongin immediately saw they got along.

He was standing on the porch himself, by one of the robust wooden beams supporting the roof, while Chanyeol stood about half a meter down and a couple of meters away in the courtyard. It was where they’d been told to wait for further instructions.

Finally Baekhyun and Sehun seemed to have reached an agreement and Sehun took a step back. “The stage is yours,” he said, with an exaggerated wave of his arm and a grin that made Jongin nervous.

“Listen to me,” Baekhyun said. He didn’t raise his voice, and he was looking down a this camera and fiddling with it as he talked, so Jongin had to strain to hear. It helped that everybody around him seemed to hold their breath. This Baekhyun made himself the centre of attention in a different way than Sehun did, but it was just as effective.

“Neither of you have had the pleasure of working with me before, so I’m going to explain what I do.”

This was a first for Chanyeol as well?

“When we planned the theme for today, we agreed you wanted a fairytale wedding.”

Oh, right, they had. Chanyeol had done most of the talking that day. Jongin had simply agreed.

“Now, if you’ve seen any of my work at all, and you must have spent your entire life under a rock if you haven’t, you know I will not have you dressed in some tacky Disney costume and snap pictures of you holding hands in front of a green screen magical forest.”

Baekhyun looked at them as if he assumed that was exactly what they’d expected and he was offended by it.

“You’re married, fake married, pretending to be in love, whatever. That’s boring, that’s not worth wasting the battery of my camera on. You need more of a story than that. I’m going to give you a story, and you’re going to live that story. I sure hope you can act, because if not I might direct you to the nearest subway station photo booth.”

Jongin swallowed and glanced at Chanyeol, who was turned away from him, listening intently.

There was a clicking sound and when he looked back he saw Baekhyun had snapped a picture already. He looked at his camera and smiled, but then he continued talking like nothing happened.

“I never cared much for the fairytale stories of royalty falling in love with commoners, who then discover their worth by being desired, blah blah, happy ending. No, you’re both princes today. You’re rich and handsome and you know it. Don’t misunderstand, you’re not supposed to act like arrogant brats, but you certainly know you’re not inferior to anyone else.”

Jongin was starting to get seriously worried that his acting skills would not measure up to Baekhyun’s standards. He would have to be a proud prince, next to Chanyeol.

“You’ve never met before but you’re at a private party in a nearby kingdom. Tomorrow there will be a royal wedding you’re both invited to, but tonight’s event is less official. The couple’s commoner friends have also been invited. The dress code is black tie and you both decided to follow it and blend into crowd.”

Jongin wondered where this was going. He glanced at Chanyeol again. Chanyeol could certainly pass for royalty.

“You’ve decided to go outside for some air. Chanyeol, you’re wandering around the courtyard, taking a break from the polite small talk inside, and Kai, you’ve just walked through those doors behind you and you see him first.”

Maybe Baekhyun didn’t watch We Got Married and only knew him from his videos, or maybe he somehow sensed that calling him Kai gave Jongin a confidence boost. Kai was a performer. Kai could tell a story through dance. surely Kai could pose like a prince. Jongin relaxed a little and tried to focus on Baekhyun's words instead of shooting nervous glances at Chanyeol.

“You see him, you like what you see and you can’t help but wonder who he is. Where is he from? Is he with someone? He wouldn’t be alone at this party if he was. Does he speak one of the languages you’re fluent in? Is he royalty or one of the local commoners? It would be a pain if he is a commoner when you decide to court him, but you find you don’t really care.”

That seemed like a lot of thoughts to convey without using words, but Jongin found that if he repeated those questions in his head, his face reacted naturally.

“Chanyeol, you’re not the focus of these shots but I need you to act along to give him something to react to,” Baekhyun said.

Kai followed Baekhyun’s instructions, walking back and forth on the porch, following Chanyeol as he walked around, casually leaning against a beam, only following Chanyeol with his eyes. Someone was holing a screen to reflect the sunlight and Kai turned towards or away from it when told to.

Jongin liked this. He liked being told how to act and how to move. Sehun didn’t do that when they were filming. Jongin didn’t like being told to act ‘natural’, and ‘like himself’, because that meant Jongin took over from Kai, and that made him seem much less professional, because Jongin…Jongin’s feelings for Chanyeol…

“No,” Baekhyun suddenly said, shaking his head. “Your poses are good but your expression doesn’t match them anymore. I need less desperate longing and more casual interest.”

Kai quickly corrected himself, or tried to, which was hard, because Chanyeol had turned around and looked up at him.

Baekhyun sighed. “Okay, let’s move on. Kai you come down here. Chanyeol has noticed you but you decide to measure his interest before you approach him. Slowly walk over here, towards the fountain, pretend to be fascinated by it, don’t look around. Chanyeol, you watch him and you’re having exactly the same thoughts Kai did when he first saw you.”

This was so much harder. The idea that he was aware of Chanyeol checking him out but decided not to react to it seemed very unnatural to Jongin. 

Baekhyun had him walk back and forth the same way multiple times. It helped that he had to look the other way, but still he could feel Chanyeol’s eyes on him. He probably looked like he was trying a little too hard to play hard to get.

Baekhyun either didn’t notice this or he didn’t care, because Kai got no further instructions from him.

Baekhyun was looking at Chanyeol when he said: “Stop.” And then hesitated, like he was unsure what to say for the first time today. “I thought,” he said, “you were an entertainment veteran.”

“He is,” Sehun interrupted. “What’s wrong?” Jongin had forgotten all about him and his cameras, Baekhyun was good at stealing the spotlight.

“I expected I would have to help the new guy with his expressions, and he’s done better than I thought. I know it’s hard to exaggerate without overdoing it, but I didn’t think you’d make the same rookie mistake, Chanyeol.” Baekhyun gestured at his face. “Less desperation. We’re creating a romance here, not a Grimm tragedy.”

Jongin turned and looked at Chanyeol, who apologised to Baekhyun and then looked back at him. He seemed a bit embarrassed, genuinely, not faked. Jongin knew he was supposed to look at the fountain, but he couldn’t look away.

Baekhyun snapped a couple of pictures of them. “Never mind. I think that’s it,” he said, turning to Sehun. “I think we got it.”

“Alright,” Sehun said, “you two need to go through hair and makeup again while we prepare the second set.”

Jongin was confused. This was it, but, there was more? He felt like he’d been here a very long time already.

Sehun sighed when he didn’t move. “Go, now. It’s going to be a long day.”

“Come on,” Chanyeol said, walking past him. Jongin followed him in a daze.

Chanyeol led him up the steps and into the house, where he took a left. Jongin could swear the makeup room had been the first on the right.

“Um,” he said, when he followed Chanyeol into a room that didn’t seem familiar at all.

Chanyeol closed the door behind him and raised a finger to his lips. Jongin was very confused.

“Aren’t we supposed to go to-“

Chanyeol quietly shushed him and reached for the buttons of Jongin’s jacket.

Jongin veered back, shocked. His legs hit the back of a couch and he would have fallen over backwards if Chanyeol hadn’t grabbed his arm and steadied him.

Chanyeol let go as soon as he'd regained his footing, but the imprint of his hand lingered on Jongin’s skin, even through the jacket and dress shirt.

Chanyeol lifted his own jacket to reveal the mike pack on his hip. He had unplugged it.

Jongin got it now. He flushed. How embarrassing to assume that Chanyeol would reach for him for any other reason… He lifted his jacket and unplugged his own mike. 

Chanyeol smiled. “We have a moment before they realise we’re gone,” he said, “to talk. Just us. If you want.”


	8. Chapter 8

Off camera Chanyeol wanted to talk to off camera Jongin. Chanyeol’s words left little room for misinterpretation. 

‘Yes, I would like that very much,’ was what Jongin wanted to say, and should have said.

But he couldn’t think of any professional reason Chanyeol would want to talk to him in private, so what he did was pull a face of total disbelief and ask: “…why?”

Chanyeol’s tentative smile faded.

Understanding his reaction had been the wrong one, Jongin decided blabbering was a good alternative. 

“I mean, not that I mind. You just surprised me, so…sure, we could talk. Um…this is a pretty cool location, don’t you think?” He gestured vaguely at the room they were standing in, which he only now saw was an elaborately decorated sitting room. 

Daylight came in through tall windows, framed by heavy curtains. The three windowless walls were full of paintings and the one opposite the door had a fireplace with a marble mantlepiece. 

In the centre of the room stood a hardwood coffee table, surrounded by undoubtedly expensive armchairs and sofas. Those looked perfect for sitting on during fancy high tea parties and tripping over like a delusional idiot when you assume your pretend husband is trying to undress you.

Jongin’s lame conversation starter somehow, thankfully, brought Chanyeol’s smile back. “It is,” he said. “Do you want to try if those sofas are as soft as they look?”

Jongin nodded, forcing himself not to hear any possible innuendo in that sentence. He walked around and sat down on the sofa nearest to them. The upholstery was a faded pink, not really his colour, but the cushions were nice and soft. Belle would probably love those. 

Chanyeol sat next to him.

“The owner is in Europe, I think, in one of their other houses. It’s nice they gave us permission to shoot here,” he said.

“Seriously?” Jongin said. “This photographer must have great connections.”

“Sehun arranged it…I think. He knows all kinds of rich people. He used to shoot videos exclusively for big brands, you know, like Gucci.”

“Seriously?” Jongin said again, more surprised this time. He could only imagine all the high end models and launch parties involved with a job like that. 

Chanyeol nodded. “Is that hard to believe? I think it suits him.”

Jongin could definitely imagine it. Sehun was high fashion personified. Sehun working exclusively with the rich and famous wasn’t what struck him as odd. 

“I mean, what happened? Why would he agree to work on some low budget internet reality show after all that?”

“That’s-”, Chanyeol hesitated. “I don’t know. Maybe…he wanted to try something else?” He frowned. “Is it obvious that this is a low budget show?”

“Um…not really,” Jongin thought carefully about how to put this. He felt like he had offended Chanyeol somehow. “I mean, it’s a format that doesn’t really require a large budget, right?” 

Wait, why should Chanyeol take offence. Did he worry it didn’t suit his image to appear on a potentially cheap looking show? 

Surely that was his management’s problem. If Chanyeol himself felt too good for a show like this, a show that could, in Kyungsoo’s words, very well become Kai’s major breakthrough, Jongin felt he might be a little disappointed in him.

“You can just kind of tell,” he added, deciding to just be honest. He lifted his arm to show the seams of his suit, “by the pins keeping this outfit together.”

“Oh,” Chanyeol said.

Now, instead of worried, he looked sad. Jongin started to wonder if he was just imagining all these emotions. You’d think a seasoned entertainer would have more control over his expression.

“…isn’t yours like that?” he asked.

“No, mine isn’t like that,” Chanyeol said. “…I’m sorry.”

Jongin shrugged. “Why would you be sorry? You go to lots of events where you have to wear stuff like this. I guess they thought it would be easier if they kept mine unfinished so they can tailor them to someone who actually needs to look this fancy more than once.”

“I’m sure the producers of the show just didn’t have your measurements,” Chanyeol said.

“I’m not surprised,” Jongin laughed. “I don’t even know my measurements.”

“They could have made an effort to find out. I mean, they did for me.”

Jongin shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. I don’t mind. I love that I get to wear something as beautiful as this even if it’s just for a day.”

Chanyeol didn’t seem convinced, but he dropped the issue. 

“How is your head?” he asked.

Jongin had almost forgotten about his little collision with the camera.

“I’m okay. I do have an impressive bump though.” Doyeon had asked him if he was sure he was okay twice while fixing his hair. “Do you want to feel it?”

He just blurted that out without thinking. Why? Why could he overthink every trivial detail of his life but then, when it really mattered, forget to think before he talked?

Jongin had always liked the story of the Little Mermaid. The version in which she dissolves into sea foam and her soul moves to another realm, mind you. If only that were possible.

Why would he ask anyone, let alone Chanyeol, to ‘feel the bump on his head’? 

Oh no, most definitely no innuendo intended.

Chanyeol, if his face did speak the truth, didn’t even seem to realise how awkward this was. He simply leaned in closer and reached out his hand.

He was so careful. His fingers barely brushed through Jongin’s hair. But still Jongin winced, simply because of the awkwardness of it.

Chanyeol quickly pulled his hand back and looked at him with big eyes. “Sorry, I-“

Their faces were so much closer together now then they should be conform the protocol for maintaining personal space between relative strangers. And yet, neither of them had moved from the moment their eyes met.

Chanyeol smelled sweet, of makeup and hairspray. His eyelashes weren’t naturally very long, but with a touch of mascara and eyeliner his make up artist had framed his eyes just right. Not that they really needed it to be absolutely mesmerising.

Jongin’s distracted mind vaguely remembered being curious about something. The moment you get to experience a cliche romantic scene in real life, he’d wondered, do you realise what’s happening, like a self aware movie character’s voice over?

Spoiler alert: You do.

He’d also wondered if that realisation takes away from the magic of the moment or not. Like, does knowing that you’re basically living a romcom weaken your experience, or do you actually feel your heart flutter and your cheeks flush or whatever, without giving a damn about how sappy that is because all you’re thinking is how much you want is to kiss the person in front of you?

Spoiler alert: The moment Chanyeol’s gaze dropped to Jongin’s lips, just briefly, before he quickly looked up again to meet his eyes, Jongin’s brain pretty much stopped working. All he could think about was what it would feel like, Chanyeol’s mouth on his. He was imagining a light brush of lips, slightly moist, followed by firm pressure and fingers tangling in his hair, pulling him closer, and- Damn Kyungsoo for feeding his imagination by reading him fanfiction.

Had Chanyeol’s face come even closer? Jongin could feel it against his skin when a breath of air left Chanyeol’s slightly parted lips, which he was blatantly staring at by now. 

It reminded his sluggish brain that maybe breathing wasn’t such a bad idea.

Someone gasped.

Chanyeol and Jongin looked over at the same time, almost bumping heads, to see Jongdae standing by the door, with his hand clasped over his mouth. 

Jongdae’s eyes had a strange gleam about them. Jongin recognised this emotion. If he had to guess, Jongdae was about two seconds away from total fanboy meltdown. 

Jongin wasn’t so far away from melting himself. The sea foam idea came back to him, but oddly enough this time he felt he could dissolve into bubbles with a smile on his face. He would be happy foam, if that made sense.

Chanyeol’s reaction was to quickly stand up and take a step back, distancing himself and leaving Jongin all alone on the ugly pink sofa. Sad foam after all.

“You…you,” Jongdae couldn’t manage more words than that.

Chanyeol cleared his throat.

Jongdae straightened his back and seemed to regain some confidence. “Whatever…else…you do, don’t switch off your mikes again. Sehun will kick my ass if there’s no audio footage from today.”

“It was my idea,” Chanyeol said. “Sorry.”

Jongdae shrugged. “I’m not too worried. If you keep hiding in here all day it’s not my ass that’s going to be kicked. I don’t mind.” He had a hard time hiding the grin that was trying to appear on his face.

“He’s right,” Chanyeol said, looking at Jongin. “Let’s go.” 

Jongdae stepped aside to let them pass.

Chanyeol didn’t say anything else. He just left.

Jongdae looked at Jongin and seemed to hesitate, but then he followed Chanyeol.

 

“There you are,” Yoonah said. “I was starting to get worried.”

“I got lost,” Jongin lied.

He knew his private talk with Chanyeol would be all over the internet by tomorrow in fanfiction format, but he would like to keep it a real life secret from as many people as he could. He didn’t even know what to think of it himself yet.

“This house does have many rooms,” Yoonah said. “Well, it’s good you’re here. We have a lot to do.”

Jongin let her dress him and tried not to think about anything else.

When Yoonah was done, he was wearing a fantasy royalty outfit of a quality that measured up to serious feature film standards.

It was a suit, but instead of a formal black tie it was a deep maroon red colour with golden decorative embroidery along the seams. It came with a hooded cloak in the same red and knee high black leather boots. There was no feathered hat - Yoonah looked offended when he asked her about that. 

While Yoonah worked on the fit of the clothes, Jongin went to the makeshift makeup room where Doyeon touched up his makeup and styled his hair to look a bit more casual than before. Chanyeol wasn't there, and Jongin wasn’t sure if he was sad about that or not this time. Doyeon complained she would run out of foundation with how red his face was.

When his new look was complete, Jongin genuinely felt like a prince, but dressed casually for his royal standards.

“I can tell you like it,” Yoonah had said. Which was true. 

“It suits you.” She added. Which, whether that was also the truth or not, gave Jongin the confidence boost he needed to leave the dressing room and go find Chanyeol.

 

The gate Jongin had come in through this morning was technically at the back of the house. If you walked across the courtyard, up the steps to the porch and through the building, you got to the actual front door, facing the garden. A staff member told Jongin to go there.

‘Nothing happened,’ Jongin told himself. ‘We just talked, and then Jongdae interrupted. Anything else was just my imagination.’ There was no way Chanyeol had been having the same thoughts when they stared at each other, at close range, for a long time.

Against the front of the house was a wide marble terrace, steps leading down from it and then a large area with trees, bushes and flowerbeds. Much of the green had been drained from it by autumn, but Jongin could tell that when in season this was a beautifully lush garden. It was surrounded by a brick wall with wrought iron ornaments.

Chanyeol was standing at the top of the steps. His outfit was the same as Jongin’s, but the colours were different, midnight blue with silver embroidery, a matching cloak and brown leather boots. 

Chanyeol turned to face Jongin. There was a slight hesitation in his expression, but then he smiled, widely, but nothing like the smile from his stay fruity commercial. If there had been anything around to bump into, Jongin surely would have.

“Did you turn off your mikes?!” Jongin possibly zoned out for a moment, because Sehun had appeared out of nowhere, shouting almost directly into his ear. Jongin cringed and Chanyeol gave him a look of sympathy.

“Do you really need to record us getting changed?” Chanyeol asked.

“Yes, I do,” Sehun snapped. “Baekhyun gets to direct everything else. What am I supposed to put in my episode? You posing in silence? People can just as well only watch the photos if I don’t give them some behind the scenes footage.”

“I’m sure you’ll also have us do interviews as usual,” Chanyeol countered.

“Thank you for bringing that up,” Sehun said. He looked properly angry now. “Care to explain why you were nowhere to be found when my writers wanted to record your opinion on the first part of the shoot?”

Jongin didn’t like that Chanyeol and Sehun were arguing. Sehun seemed more pushy than usual. Maybe he didn’t like his spotlight being stolen.

“We won’t do it again,” Jongin said.

Both Chanyeol and Sehun looked at him. “We’ll do the interviews and we won’t turn our mikes off, right?” Jongin looked pleadingly at Chanyeol.

He had only heard good things about Chanyeol’s behaviour on set. He didn’t want him to ruin that reputation by arguing with a director.

Chanyeol seemed to realise the same thing. His shoulders dropped as the tension that had been building up left his body. “Yes, what Jongin said. We won’t sneak off again.”

“Oh, so you listen to your husband,” Sehun said, “but not to me?” He emphasised the word husband and gestured at Jongin as if to point out how ridiculous it was to take him seriously in this role at all.

“If you’re done solving your marital dispute,” Baekhyun’s voice sounded from the foot of the stairs, loud enough that they could hear him from this distance, but still calm and authoritative. “I thought we had work to do.”

Sehun turned to Jongin. “I can’t work with this unprofessional attitude. Make sure you remember that, since apparently you’re in charge here.”

He huffed and walked away, possibly to take out his frustration on an innocent cameramen.

Chanyeol looked like he wanted to say something, but just as he opened his mouth, Jongin turned towards the stairs and started walking down to the garden, pretending he hadn’t noticed. 

They were wearing their mikes again, so any consolation Chanyeol gave him now might not be genuine. Jongin was not sure he could handle the gnawing doubt that would make him feel right after facing a vexed Sehun.

Or course, only a few heartbeats later he was wondering if actually, maybe ignoring Chanyeol was worse than the doubt.

Quick footsteps followed him down the marble steps, and then Chanyeol was next to him. 

“Don’t mind the grumpy director,” he said. “It was my idea. You did nothing wrong.” And then, so quietly Jongin had to strain his ears to hear. “And you look amazing.”

A blush had spread all over Jongin’s cheeks by the time he reached the bottom step.

 

“You meet again.” Baekhyun didn’t waste any time diving back into their fairytale as soon as they were both standing in front of him. 

“Your hosts have arranged entertainment for the wedding guests today, including a hunting trip.”

Professional attitude, I won’t give Baekhyun a reason to be disappointed in me like Sehun, Jongin thought, and he tried to pay extra attention.

“Kai, you couldn’t focus on the game and decided to return to the palace early. You left your horse in the care of a stableboy and went for a walk in the gardens. You can’t stop thinking about the man you briefly saw at the party yesterday. You haven’t seen him since.”

Be unable to stop thinking about Chanyeol. Jongin could do that.

“Chanyeol, you didn’t join the hunt, but stayed at the palace and met with old friends and allies of your father, strengthening your position as his successor. You decided to take a break from politics and go for a walk. That’s when you meet each other again.”

Baekhyun stopped talking and fiddled with his camera for a bit. Someone holding a screen to reflect sunlight was standing nearby. It was a beautiful afternoon, with a clear sky and no rain. The garden wasn’t in bloom, but maybe that was a good thing. Their colourful outfits stood out more against the background of green hedges and brown-yellow trees.

“Well, pose,” Baekhyun said.

That was it? Jongin thought. Chanyeol seemed equally confused.

“I’m not going to be the narrator of every second of your fairytale,” Baekhyun said with a Sehun-worthy eye-roll. “I need you to act along. Oh, one more thing, you’re wearing the colours of your respective families now and you’re unmistakably royalty, so you don’t have to worry about the other being a commoner anymore.”

Jongin looked at Chanyeol, who looked back at him.

“Pretend you’re talking,” Baekhyun said, “But I don’t need words, just expressions.”

Oh good, there would be at least some instructions. Jongin, or Kai, tried to follow them as best he could.

He turned towards and away from Chanyeol, looked into his eyes or let his gaze drop down the length of his body. The dark blue velvety fabric with silver highlights complimented Chanyeol’s skin.

Baekhyun hardly gave any instructions, he just took pictures, which Chanyeol hoped meant they were doing okay. The only thing he repeated a few times was “keep moving”, which meant Jongin had been staring at Chanyeol in the same pose for a little too long.

It wasn’t hard to imagine they were princes in a palace garden, dressed as they were. Jongin admired Chanyeol’s outfit and gestured at parts of the garden or the house behind them. He tried to react accordingly as Chanyeol did the same.

It also wasn’t hard to pretend to be interested in Chanyeol. The cloak broadened his shoulders, a belt accentuated his waist and the high boots hugged his calves just tightly enough. Jongin could see a man beneath this costume he wouldn’t mind getting to know a little better.

But it was hard to look at Chanyeol’s face without getting lost in his eyes or having his gaze drawn towards his lips, and whenever that happened, he had to look away to avoid getting distracted.

Baekhyun hadn’t talked for a while now, immersed in his camera, but the frequency of his sighs increased.

“What happened after the courtyard?” he asked eventually. 

Jongin could see Chanyeol didn’t know what to make of that question either.

“Your interactions are different, your expressions less open,” Baekhyun continued after a while. “I was only joking just now, but…did you actually have a couple fight?”

No, Jongin thought. We almost kissed. And then immediately: No we didn’t, that was just my imagination. And then: But that’s still not something I’d want to share with every single person who watches this show.

“We didn’t,” Chanyeol answered for him.

“Well, then you’re hiding something else,” Baekhyun said.

Jongin didn’t like how perceptive he was, but maybe it made sense for a very successful photographer to have an eye for detail.

“Your posing is fine,” Baekhyun said. “You’re both acting like professionals, but you’re hiding the emotion you showed me before in the process. I won’t pry…I just, would like you to resolve whatever is holding you back.” He looked at them and seemed to make a decision. “Let’s take a short break.”

Jongin didn’t know what he was supposed to do during this short break, but Sehun didn’t take long to jump at the opportunity. He had a brief conversation with the never blinking writer at the top of the steps, from where they’d been monitoring the filming, and then he send her down to them.

“Follow me inside,” she said when she was within talking distance, “for a quick interview.” She only looked at Chanyeol.

Jongin wondered if she really meant the both of them and just forgot to look at him, until she did address him directly. “You are next. Wait here. Do not move from this spot.”

Unsure of how literally to take that command and deciding not to take any chances, Jongin remained where he was, standing amidst wilted flowers in his princely attire, trying not to think about Chanyeol. 

A familiar voice behind him made him jump.

“Dude, I seriously just wasted like ten minutes looking for you because I thought: Well, that handsome stylishly dressed gentleman down there in the garden definitely can’t be my this-hoodie-I’ve-danced-in-all-week-is-perfect-for-our-dinner-date-best-friend Kim Jongin!”

Jongin blinked at Kyungsoo, trying to determine if he was actually here, or if this was just the Kyungsoo-like part of his own brain, activated to accuse him of doing something stupid.

“Dude,” Kyungsoo said in an admiring sort of voice as he walked around him, and again: “Dude.”

Okay, this was the real Kyungsoo. The one inside his head only ever scolded him.

“I need to know who styled you because I’m definitely hiring those people when I start up DO’NT.”

“Why are you here?” Jongin asked. He didn’t mean to sound mean. He was just surprised. Kyungsoo never came to the set. He usually worked at his regular job while Jongin was filming. “I mean, don’t you have clients today?”

“Cancelled because I had a feeling you might need some support today.”

“I…thank you, but…” Kyungsoo couldn’t possibly know about Sehun’s mood today. “Why?”

Kyungsoo looked around first like he was about to share a secret. Jongin wondered if he should tell him that his mike might pick up his voice and there might be someone still monitoring, but then Kyungsoo was already talking. “I’m here to support you during the kiss scene that’s inevitably about to happen, because I assume you haven’t even thought about that yet, and I see…”

Kiss scene? Jongin’s blood ran cold. There was going to be a… Why hadn’t he thought of that?

“…I see that you’re freaking out big time now that I’ve made you aware of it.”

Jongin glanced around to see if either Sehun or Jongdae were near and then reached behind his back to turn off his mike again. He didn’t really want to get in trouble, but mostly he didn’t want to get Chanyeol in trouble. Chanyeol was being interviewed right now so he had a solid alibi.

He would risk being yelled at by Sehun for a moment of talking freely to Kyungsoo.

“They wouldn’t. Gay people kissing on a public show? That’s too much a wrong even for Chanyeol’s popularity to right.”

Kyungsoo raised his eyebrows. “You’ve met the director? Because I know he's not the type to care what anybody else thinks. Also, he’s married to a man himself.”

“But we can just like, fake it with camera angles, right? As long as the pictures turn out good.”

“I think Oh Sehun is not going to be satisfied with a good picture. This is We Got Married. There are going to be moving picture close up shots of your lips and if they don't touch everyone involved is going to be lynched by fans.”

“But I can’t do a kiss scene with Chanyeol,” Jongin said, exasperated.

Kyungsoo studied his face. “And is that because you very much don’t want to kiss him, or because you secretly very much do want to kiss him?”

Chanyeol didn’t answer that, he just rolled his eyes and shot Kyungsoo an annoyed look, but he could see Kyungsoo took that as a confirmation and he knew. Of course he knew.

“Can’t you just tell Sehun to forget about the kiss scene?”

“You know,” Kyungsoo said. “I think I’ve been a pretty good agent for you so far, and I know one of the things I never really lack is confidence, but I hope that hasn’t made you forget that I’m just a mediocre life coach in the middle of a possible career switch.”

“I know,” Jongin said. Kyungsoo wasn’t a mediocre life coach though, he was a pretty damn good one, he was just getting tired of the repetition of boring and whiny clients. “But can’t you just ask him? Please?” 

Kyungsoo sighed. “Well, okay, I’ll ask my old pal Best Director of Asia for a favour which would dramatically lower the ratings of his show. I’m just going to hope this will not affect my future in the entertainment world at all.”

“I know…” Jongin said, starting to feel guilty. He knew kissing Chanyeol wouldn’t be a punishment to him. And they were entertainment professionals, kiss scenes were just part of the job. He didn’t need to feel so anxious about it. “It’s just…”

“I’m on my way to him now,” Kyungsoo said as he turned towards the steps very slowly and continued talking over his shoulder. “I’m doing this because you are not only my best dancer but also my best friend, and you’re about to be asked to do something you’re not comfortable with. The importance of my dream of one day owning an entertainment company pales in comparison to this horrid-”

“Okay!” Jongin caved. “Okay fine, don’t go. I’ll do it. I can do it.”

 

**Notyourbaby:** You need to be nicer to Jongin

**Slayhun:** Excuse me for caring about the quality of the show that I’m…what’s that word…directing

**Notyourbaby:** …  
**Notyourbaby:** You’re sassier than usual today…  
**Notyourbaby:** What’s wrong?

**Slayhun:** Nothing

**Notyourbaby:** Tell me  
**Notyourbaby:** Oh Sehun, you tell your bestie what’s bothering you, or else…

**Slayhun:** I dare you to finish that sentence  
**Slayhun:** Also, who says you’re my bestie?  
**Slayhun:** My baby, maybe, but bestie?

**Notyourbaby:** See…you wouldn’t be so mean to me if you were fine  
**Notyourbaby:** …is Dante still overseas on that business trip? 

**Slayhun:** …yes.

**Notyourbaby:** And you’re lonely

**Slayhun:** …maybe

**Notyourbaby:** You should have told me!! I would have come over with movie suggestions and snacks

**Slayhun:** You don’t have time. And you only ever talk about Jongin

**Notyourbaby:** I’ll make time for you  
**Notyourbaby:** And I care about Jongin. You need to be nicer to him on set.  
**Notyourbaby:** Please?

**Slayhun:** …  
**Slayhun:** Can we watch Mean Girls?

**Notyourbaby:** Deal.


End file.
